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Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


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Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The 
to  tl 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  f'/hich  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6X6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-etre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m^thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


The 
pG«: 
of  ti 
film 


0 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


□    Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagee 


D 


D 
D 

D 

n 

0 


n 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pellicul6e 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


D 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relie  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serree  peut  cause/^  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int^rieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout^es 
lors  dune  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film^es. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires; 


□    Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 

□    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaur6es  et/ou  pelliculees 


[^ 


Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d^color^es,  tachet^es  ou  piquees 


I      I    Pages  detached/ 


Pages  detachees 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualite  inegale  de  I'impression 


I      I    Showthrough/ 

I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


D 
D 
0 


Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelur< 
etc.,  ont  6t6  film6es  d  nouveau  de  faqon  ^ 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


Orig 

beg 

the 

sior 

oth( 

first 

sion 

or  il 


The 
shal 
TIN 
whi 

Mai 
diff( 
enti 
beg 
righ 
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met 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqud  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

SOX 

v/ 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

University  of  British  Columbia  Library 


L'exemplaire  fiimd  fut  reproduit  grdce  A  la 
g6n6  osit6  de: 

University  of  British  Columbia  Library 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  w«th  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Las  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nattetd  de  l'exemplaire  filmd,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Les  exeniplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  film6s  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmds  en  commenpant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — »>  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film6s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lcrsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  11  est  filmd  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup^rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


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Early  Mackinac: 


"THE  FAIRY  ISLAND." 


A     SKEZTOH. 


BY 


Meade  C.   Williams. 


Name.  -Tndlvn  Legends.  —Indian  Character.— Frenoei 
En(Jlisii  and  American  Flags.— Old  Fort.— Mili- 
tary- History,  and  War  ov  1812.— Fur  Trade. 
—Early  Village  Life.— Christian  Mis- 
sions and  Ciii:rciies.— Natural  At- 
tractions.—Antiquities. 


■ 


BtrsCHART     UK  US.,     PRINT.- 
ST.     LOUIS,     MO. 


I 

I 


COPYRIGHT,  1897, 
BY  MEADP:  C.  WILLIAMS 


TO    ALL     THOSE 
WHO    HAVING    ONCE    KNOWN 

THF:  ISLAND  OF  THE  STRAITS 

STILL    KEMEMBER    ITS    CHARM, 

AND    REMAIN    LNDER   THE    POWER    OF    ITS    SPELL, 

THIS    KOOK    IS    DEDICATED. 


CONTENTS. 


rREFACE. 


PHce. 


CHAPTEK    I. 

The  IsluncVs  iiiime — Its  etyniolo^'y  -  Its  saerednertS  in  thf  Indian's 
mind  -Indian  leK«'nfl'^—l^'>f^t'<'  vein  iu  Indian  nomenelatnre-Tlie 

passing,'  of  the  Indian 7 

CHAl'TER    II. 

Early  setlliuK  under  the  Freueh  tla^:— Pioneer  military  post  on 
northern  mainland— La  Hontan's  \isit— Removal  to  Detroit  and 
return  Post  established  on  southern  mainland— Ens-'lish  sway- 
Discontent  of  Ihe  Indians— Ball  game  and  massacre— Alexander 

Henry— Wawatam— Skull  Cave 15 

CHAPTER     III. 

Removal  to  the  island  proposed—Transfer  effected— Major  Sinclair 

—Captain  Robertstm  (Robinson)-  Rum—Building  the  fort 25 

CHAPTER    IV. 

American  Independence  achieved— England's  delay  in  surrendering 
Mackinac- A  second  treaty  required  to  secure  American  oc- 
cupation—Greenville treaty  with  the  Indians— F\ir  trade- 
Washington  Irving's  description  of  Mackinac— Another  picture.    33 

CHAPTER    V. 
War  of  1812  opens— ••British  Landing"— Fort  Mackinac  captured  by 
the  British— Of    great  importance  to  British  interests— Oftlcial 

reports— Building  of  Fort  Holmes  (Fort  George) 42 

CHAPTER  VI. 
American  expedition  to  recover  Mackinac— Effects  entrance  at 
'•British  Landing"- The  battle— Major  Holmes  killed— Ameri- 
can forces  withdraw-  Destroy  British  supplies  in  Georgian  Bay- 
Blockade  elTected  -  Blocade  raised— Mackinac  again  ceded  lo 
United  States  in  ISI5— Old  cannon— Early  officers  at  the  fort- 
Fort  given  over  to  State  of  Michigan 00 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Early  citizens  of  the  island- Ramsey  Crooks  as  connected  with  the 
f\ir  trade— Robert  Stuart,  resident  partner  in  the  Astor  Fur  Co, 
—Henry  R  Schoolcraft,  government  agent,  scientist  and  ex- 
plorer—His  literary  works  and  character, ...,,, , 01 


PHce. 
..      I) 

's 
e 

,.       7 

15 
25 


CONTENTS.  5 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Jesuit  mi.s.sions-Marquette-Churc.h  of  St.  Ann  at  Old  Mackinac, 
and    on   the    island-Trinity  Church-Mission   School    and    Old 

Mission  Church-Story  of  Chuska-Old  Church  restored 73 

CHAPT]<1R    IX. 

Excee(-ug  beauty  of  the  island-Woods-Ve^etation-U-ater 
views-Curiosities  in  stoue-Arch  liock-SugarLoaf-Robmsons 
Folly  and  its  legends 

CHAPTER    X. 
The    island's  celebrity  as  a  place  of    resort-Early  duv    visitors- 
Books  of  deseription-Countess  Ossoli  (Margaret  Fuller)-  \  Xew 
^ork  d.,ctor^.  visit  in  1H:{5-Cap.ain  Marryatt-Mrs.  Jameson- 
Miss  Harriet  Martineau 


-O- 


42 


LIST  OP  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Birds  eye  vie  w  of  Mackinac  Island y 

La  Honian's  Sketch.  KiKS 

Fort  Mackinac • 

Mackinac  Beach 

Henry  R.  Schooh-raft. 

Old  Mission  Church 

Sugar  Loaf 

Arch  R(jck 

Tauglewood 

One  of  the   Drives 


rontLspiece . 
1(3 


.  41 
.  m 

.  SI 

.  yi 

.103 
.106 


00 


PREFACE. 


I  have  had  thirteen  summers  at  Mackinac.  Fellow  visi- 
tors there  have  often  sugges^.tod  that  I  should  furnish,  in 
written  form,  some  studies  of  the  island. 

While  it  is  believed  this  skcitch  may  have  interest  for  the 
general  reader,  it  at  the  same  time  carries  a  local  coloring 
which  m  iy  more  particularly  appeal  to  those  who  know  the 
place.  As  the  charm  of  the  locality  is  due,  in  no  small 
degree,  to  that  halo  of  antiijuity  which  hangs  ov(ir  it,  I  have 
felt  warranted  in  restricting  myself  to  <v//7//  Mackinac,  with 
but  slight  allusion  to  anything  short  of  sixtj'  years  aj*o. 

This  sketch  embodies  the  result  of  considerable  research 
among  books  and  documents.  Some  fifty  different  works 
have  b(H!n  consulted.  Generally,  though  not  always,  these 
are  indicated  in  the  narrative.  As  the  reader  will  preceive,  I 
am  greatly  indebted  to  the  various  writings  of  Henry  K. 
Schoolcraft.  I  would  also  express  my  special  sense  of 
obligation  to  the  valuable  series  of  "Collections  and  Research- 
es," a  work  carried  on  by  the  Michigan  l*ioneer  and  Historical 
Society.  These  Crilb  ctions,  at  present,  number  twenty-six 
volumes.  The  use  they  make  of  the  important  "Haldimand 
Papers"  of  Canada,  brings  to  hand  much  of  the  early  military 
history  of  the  Straits  and  of  the  Island  fort.  Instead  of  a 
foot-note  reference  in  every  case,  I  make  here  a  general 
acknowledgement. 

During  tlu^  i)rogress  of  my  wo»k  I  hove  hud  great  satis- 
faction in  a  correspondence  with  Col.Wm.  Montague  Ferry,  of 
Park  City,  Utah,  a  son  of  the  Rev.  Wm.  M.  Ferry,  of  the 
Island  Mission  work  of  long  ago,  and  who  well  remembers 
Mackinac  as  the  home  of  his  childhood  days. 
>S^^  Louin,  Mo.,  {In<jle7ieuk, 

June,  1SU7.  Mackinac  Island) 


I 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


I 


CHAPTER  I. 

Michilimackinac  was  the  old-lime  name,  not 
for  our  beautiful  island  alone,  but  for  all  the 
countiy  round  about  us,  north  to  Lake  Superior  and 
west  to  the  head  of  Green  Bay.  It  was  the  ishmd 
only  that  was  first  thus  called.  The  word  ^rew 
out  of  it,  and,  small  bit  of  land  though  it  is,  it 
threw  its  name  over  a  vast  territory 

The  name  has  been  variously  si)elled.  In  old 
histories,  reports,  and  other  documents,  T  have 
found  Mishlimakina,  Missilimakinac,  Mishilmaki, 
Michilimachina,  Missilimakina,  Michiliakimawk; 
while  in  one  standard  history,  when  tliis  re_o-ion  is 
spoken  of,  it  invariably  ap])ears  as  Michilimaki- 
naw.*  In  its  abbreviated  foi-ni  it  has  been  writ- 
ten Mackinack,  Macina,  Maquina,  Mackinac,  Mack- 
inaw. In  all  the  earlier  periods  following  the  set- 
tlement of  the  island  by  the  whites,  in  books  of 
travel  and  of  history,  the  two  ways  of  writing  it 
were  used  interchangeably,  though  the  formMack- 
himv  was  most  commonly  adoi)ted.  Also  in  many 
of  the  early  maps  and  atlases  it  is  so  given.  Steam- 
boat companies  running  boats  to  the  island,  gener- 
ally adv<>rtised  them  as  of  the  "Macldna\v  Liuis" 
and  likewise  business  firms  here  so  wrote  the  word 


*Henry  Adams'  'History  of  the  United  States." 


i 
i 


y  i«:akly  mackinac. 

—at  least  as  froquontly  as  the  otlierform.  So  this 
was  quite  f^^eiieral  dui'ing  all  that  time,  except  that 
the  official  naim?  of  tlie  military  post  held  to  the 
tenniiiation  "ac."  But  since  the  railroad  compan- 
ies built  thcnr  modern  terminal  town  across  the 
straits  and  called  it  Mackinaw  City,  for  the  sake  of 
convenience  in  distinguishing,  the  name  of  the  island 
is  now  uniformly  written  Mackinac.  In  pronuncia- 
tion, however,  without  attempting  to  settle  the 
question  by  the  laws  of  orthoepy,  it  may  be  re- 
marked that  it  is  consid(M'ed  very  incori-ect;  and  to 
the  ears  of  residents,  and  old  hdhituef^  and  lovers  of 
the  island,  it  is  almost  distressful  to  hear  it  pro- 
nounced anything  else  than  Mackina?;?.  A  com- 
promise may  perhaps  be  allowed  by  taking  the 
name  as  if  it  bore  the  termination  "ah,  "  and  giving 
it  a  sound  b(^t\ve('n  the  ilat  and  the  very  broad. 
The  (•  must  never  be  sounded. 

The  origin  of  the  word  is  in  some  obscurity. 
All  agree  that  the  first  part  of  it,  "Michi,"  means 
great.  It  is  preserved  in  the  name  of  the  State, 
Michigan,  and  in  thc^  name  of  th"  Lake,  Lake 
Michigan — meaning  great  waters  The  French 
took  it  up,  s})elling  it  Missi;  hence  t  .e  name  of  the 
river  Mississippi — great  I'iver,  the  father  of  waters. 
Conc(n'ning  the  remainder  of  the  name  which  fol- 
lows the  Michi,  we  ai'e  not  so  sure.  The  common 
view  is  tliat  the  foi'm  of  the  island,  high-backed  in 
the  center,  as  it  rises  above  the  waters,  and  hand- 
somely crowning  the  whole,  suggesteo  to  the 
Indian  fancy  the  figure  of  a  large  turtle.  Hence 
that  it  became  known  as  the  land  of  the  Great 
Turtle. 


I 


ORICIN   OF   THE    WORD. 


9 


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Great 


Schookn-afi,  wlio  is  tlie  best  autlioi-ity  on  all 
questions  pertaining  to  the  Indian  language,  as  well 
as  to  the  customs  and  characteristics  of  that  race, 
says  that  the  oi-iginal  name  of  the  island  was 
Mishi-miii-auk-in-ong,  and  that  it  means  the  i)laco 
of  the  great  dancing  spii'its— these  spirits  being  of 
the  more  inferior  and  diminutive  order,  instead  of 
belonging  to  the  Indian  collection  of  gods;  a  Kind 
of  pukwees,  or  fairies,  or  sprites,  j-ather  than 
Man  i  tons. 

Heriot,  an  English  traveler  in  North  America, 
and  who  published  his  "Ti-avels  through  the 
Canadas, "  in  1807.  touched  at  Mackinac  and  reports 
as  the  origin  of  the  nanie  that  the  island  had  been 
given,  as  tlieir  S])ecial  abode,  loan  order  of  spirits 
called  Imakinakos,  and  that  "trom  these  aerial 
possessors  it  had  received  the  api)ellatk)not'Michi- 
limackinac." 

Perhaps  tiies«»  different  views  can  in  a  manner 
be  combined.  The  turtle  was  held  in  great  re\er- 
ence  by  the  Indians.  In  their  mythology  it  was 
regarded  as  a  symbol  of  tlu^  earth  and  addressed  as 
motlier. *  The  fancied  physical  I'esemblance  of  the 
island  could  easily  worlv  in   with    their   m\thical 


*Auar.Mv  Laii- ill  his  ■Myths.  Kit  uiil  iiml  Relit,aous.--  (Vol  1  p  IS-') 
meutioiis  oertai.i  of  the  Imliuu  tnl.,-s  its  holih'u-  tho  nuu-y  that  (lie 
earth  Krew  out  of  the  tortoise.  One  form  tliat  the  h'^end  tonic  was 
that  Ataheustie.  u  vvouian  of  the  upper  world,  hart  been  banished  froin 
the  slvv.  and  fuliintr.  dropjied  on  the  bael<  ..f  a,  turtle  in  tli(>  midst  of  the 
waters.  The  turtle  eonsulted  with  the  oth.-r  a.iuatie  animals  and  one 
of  them,  peuerally  .said  to  have  be.-n  tlie  musl<-rat.  IIsIh  d  up  s.m^e  soil 
and  fashionrd  the  .-arth.  Uer.'  the  woman  -ave  birth  lo  i  wins  and  thus 
betrau  the  i)eoplin-  of  the  ^lobe  Thus  in  the  crude  fancy  of  the 
Western  Indians  do  w.-  lind  a  reHeethm  or  fratrment  ..f  the  ancient 
myth  which  once  i)revailed  in  the  oriental  mind  that  the  world  re.sted 
on  the  back  uf  a  turtle. 


10 


EARLY  MACKINAC. 


idea  of  the  turtle,  apart  from  its  having  any  ety- 
mological connection.  And  thus  whatever  way  the 
name  is  studied  it  becomes  associated  with  some 
Indian  conception  of  spirit.  All  singular  or  strik- 
ing foi'mations  in  the  work  of  nature — objects  that 
were  of  an  unusual  kind  or  very  large  and  impos- 
ing, as  lofty  rocks,  overhanging  cliffs,  mountains, 
lakes  and  such  like — these  jjoor  untutored  cliildren 
looked  upon  as  the  habitations  of  spirits.  Our 
island  therefore,  physically  so  different  from  the 
other  islands  and  the  mainland  about  it,  with  its 
glens  and  crags,  and  its  many  remarkable  and 
strange  looking  stone  formations,  would  easily  be 
peopled  for  them  with  spectres  and  spirits.  They 
regarded  it  as  their  sacred  island,  and  a  favorite 
haunt  of  their  gods,  and  cherished  for  it  feelings 
akin  to  awe;  and  from  the  surrounding  regions 
would  bring  their  dead  for  burial  in  its  soil.  The 
island  seems  to  have  been  ratlier  their  place  of 
j'esort  and  temporary  sojourn  than  of  permanent 
abode. 

Thei'e  is  something  vei-y  fascinating  in  the 
fragments  of  early  Indian  fanciers  and  triiditions 
and  legends  which  are  associated  with  our  island. 
It  is  interesting,  too,  to  note  liow  the  legends  and 
the  mythology  of  the  Indians  and  their  dim 
religious  ideas  so  often  took  a  poetic  form.  For 
instance,  in  their  pagan  and  untutored  minds  they 
thought  of  the  island  as  the  favorite  visiting  place 
of  Michibou,  the  great  one  of  the  waters,  their 
Manitou  of  these  lakes.  That,  coming  over  the 
waters  from  the  sunrise  in  the  east,  he  would  touch 
the  beach  at  the  foot  of  Arch  Rock;  that  the  large 


i 


LEGLNDAKY. 


11 


-y  ety- 
'ay  the 
i  some 
■  strik- 
ts  that 
impos- 
n  tains, 
liildren 
Our 
om  the 
k'ith  its 
lie   and 
sily  be 
They 
avorite 
eeliiigs 
regions 
[.     The 
hice  of 
manent 

in    the 
?.ditions 

island, 
ids  and 
'ir  dim 
n.  For 
Is  they 
g  place 
s,  tlieir 
ver  tlie 
Ld  touch 
le  large 


mass  of  stone  which  liad  falh'n  from  the  face  of  the 
clilf  in  the  long  ago,  causing  thn  arch  above,  was 
"Manitou's  Landing  Place;''  that  tlie  arch  was  his 
gateway  through  which,  ascending  tlie  hill,  he 
would  proceed  in  stately  stop  to  "Sugar  Loaf," 
wliich  in  fancy  they  made  to  be  his  wigwam,  or 
lodge — the  cave  on  the  west  side,  known  to  all  to- 
day, being  his  doorway.  Then  again,  the  Sugar 
Loaf  stone  and  others  of  that  conical,  pyramidal 
shai)e — such  as  the  one  which  stands  in  St.  Ignace 
and  in  d liferent  parts  of  the  noi'thern  peninsula,  and 
yet  others  which  formerly  stood  on  the  island — 
that  these  strange,  uncanny  looking  rock  forma- 
tions, by  a  modification  of  fancy,  they  w^ould 
X:>ersonify  with  great  giants  or  monsters  who  tower- 
ed o^-er  them  as  sentinels  to  note  whether  they 
made  due  offerings  and  sacrifices  to  Manitou,  their 
success  in  the  hunting  and  trapping  being  condi- 
tioned on  this  kind  of  religious  tidelitJ^'''■ 

The  Indians,  so  spontaneously  recognizing  the 
world  of  si3irits,were  fruitful  in  ideas  and  sentiments 
of  reverence.  We  are  told  there  wore  no  profane^ 
words  in  their  vocabulary.  Think  of  a  people  who 
did  not  know  liow  to  swear  because  they  liad  no 


*Schoolcraft  noted  a  curious  fact  aiuouK  the  Chlppe was— that  they 
fancied  the  woods  and  shores  and  i^h.nds  were  iiiliuliited  l).vinuunier!il)le 
spirits  wlio  during  the  summer  season  were  wakeful  aud  quick  to  hear 
everything  that  was  spoken,  but  durinit?  the  winter  existed  only  in  a 
torpid  state,  The  Indian  story  lellei's  aud  le;.'end  mongers  were  there- 
fore very  free  in  amusinjjr  their  listenei's  with  fanciful  aud  mysterious 
tales  durin^c  'he  winter,  as  the  spirits  were  then  iu  a  slate  of  inactivity 
and  could  not  hear.  Kut  their  story  telliuf,'  was  susi)eiide(l  the  iiionu'nt 
the  pipiuj?  of  the  frog  announced  that  spriuK  had  opened.  That  he  had 
endeavored,  h>it  in  vain,  to  yet  any  of  them  to  relate  this  sort  of 
imatirinary  lore  at  any  other  time  than  in  the  winter.  They  would  always 
evade  his  attempts  by  some  easy  or  indifferent  remark. 


12 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


words  for  it !  It  is  said  tluit  tho  lu^arest  they  ap- 
])roached  to  cursing  a  man  \vas  to  call  liim  "a  bad 
do.£i-."  So  too  in  tiie  nomenclature  of  wild  or  un- 
conlh  looking  objects  of  nature — while  our  white 
pioneers  and  prosixicting  miners  and  avani  couriers 
of  civilization  in  the  west  liave  so  often  attached  to 
such  objects  the  name  of  the  devil,  as  "Devil's 
Lake,"  "Devil's  Slide,"  "D(>virs  Half-acre," 
"Devil's  Scuttle-hole,"' and  such  like,  the  Indians 
g'en(U"illy  gave  them  someex])ressiveandha  aioni- 
ous  poetic  name.  On  the  island  we  have  the 
"Devil's  Kitchen,"'  but  we  nuiy  feel  sure  that  was 
not  of  the  Indian's  naming.  The  writer  of  this 
sketch  was  told  by  an  old  resident  who  had  passed 
the  whole  of  an  extremely  long  life  on  the  Island,* 
that  once,  long  ago,  t'  shoemaker  took  up  his  abode 
ill  that  cavern  and  did  his  cobbling  and  his  cooking 
there.     Possibl3^  that  gave  rise  to  the  name. 

In  this  habit  of  nomenclature  which  linked 
their  kleas  with  the  phejiomena  of  physical  nature, 
we  see  a  beautiful  though  often  rude  and  childish 
vein  of  poetry.  Their  name  for  the  great  cataract 
of  Niagara  was  "Thunder  of  the  Waters,"'  as  that 
for  tlie  gentle  falls  now  within  the  limits  of  the 
City  of  Minneapolis  was  Minnehaha,  or  "Laughing 
Waters,"  The  familiar  white  fish  of  these  regions 
was  the  "Deer  of  the  waters."  To  the  horizon 
limit  when  they  looked  out  on  the  lake  to  where 
the  thread-like  line  of  blue  water  loses  itself  in  the 
clouds  and  sky,  they  gave  a  name  which  signified 
the  "Par  off  sight  of  water."  Their  name  for 
General  Wayne,  who  did  so  much   to   overthi'ow 

*Ignuce  Pelotte,  died  Feb.  1897. 


I 


I 


POETIC   VEIN 


1  ^ 


they  ap- 
1  "i\  bad 
[d  or  un- 
,\ir  white 
,t  couriers 
,t  ached  to 

"Devil's 
alf-acre," 
e  Indians 
ha  xnoni- 
have    the 

that  was 
?r  of  this 
ad  passed 
e  island,* 
his  abode 
is  cooking 
me. 

h  linked 
l^al  nature, 
cliildish 
,t  cataract 
as  that 

its  of  the 
iLaughing 
ke  regions 
|e  horizon 

to  wiiere 

jelf  in  the 
signified 

Iname   for 

(verthrow 


their  power  in  the  west,  was  "Strong  Wind;"'  Avhile 
the  American  soldiers  from  tlieir  ns(^  of  \]\v  sabre 
and  sword  in  battle,  were  knov^n  as  llie  '"Long 
Knives."  Their  concej^tion  of  a  ft)rt  witli  its 
mounted  cannon  was  "Tlie  liigh-fenced  h()u^e  of 
thunder, "while  the  discharge  was  "The  arrow  lliat 
Hies  out  of  tlie  big  gun."  A  little  son  of  Mr. 
Schoolcraft,  when  he  was  Government  agent  at  the 
Sault,  was  admiringly  called  by  the  Chi[)p(nvas, 
Penaci,  or  "The  Bird;"  and  the  English  authoress, 
Mrs.  Jameson,  when  visiting  there,  after  "shooting 
tiie  rapids"  with  the  Indian  guides,  was  re-nanied 
'  "The  wcmian  of  iho.  Bright  P'oam. "  As  t  heir  whole 
life  and  range  of  observation  was  const.mtly  asso- 
ciated witii  tempests,  forests,  waters  and  skies,  and 
all  the  various  ])henomena  of  pliysical  nature,  this 
gave  shape  to  their  conceptions  and  their  qu(>stion- 
ings.  It  has  always  seemed  very  significant  that 
when  John  Eliot,  the  pioneer  missionary  to  the 
Indians  in  New'  England,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago,  began  his  instructions  among  them,  lie 
Avas  met  at  once  by  their  eager  and  long  pent-up 
questions  of  wonder:  "What  makes  the  smi  ebb 
and  How?"  "What  makes  the  wind  blow^V"  "Whiit 
makes  the  thunder?" 

Parkman  rei)resents  the  Jesuit  missionaries 
in  Canada,  two  centuries  since,  as  testifying  that 
the  Indians  had  a  more  acute  intellect  than  the 
peasantry  in  France.  At  his  best,  however,  the 
red  man  was  but  the  "Child  of  the  forest,"  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  pale  faces  waF  not  destined  to 
endure.  They  are  a  doomed  and  a  passing  race. 
Many   reasons,  or  causes,  might  be  assigned  for 


14 


EARLY  MACKINAC. 


this.  One  roason  is  that  which  was  ^iv^en  by  a 
very  thoujilitfiil  ludiiin  in  a  speech  on  a  certain 
occasion  lonf?  u^o,  befoi-e  a  company  of  frovernment 
n<4'ents  here  on  our  island  beach.  Said  he,  very 
r(  llectively:  "The  white  man  no  sooner  came  than 
he  tiiou<;iit  of  ]ir(*parin<^  the  way  for  his  posterity; 
ihe  red  man  never  thou<?ht  of  that."  In  this  pro- 
found observation  is  embodied  one  of  the  latest  de- 
ductifms  in  social  pliilo.sophy. 

Of  course,  in  tlius  speakinjj^  of  the  Indians, 
reference  is  had  to  manifestations  of  their  mental 
character  as  seen  in  earlier  days,  and  not  to  Indian 
life  of  the  i)resent.  as  seen  in  the  western  reserva- 
tions.* 

*CiitUn,  who  ranks  ncvt  to  Schoolcnift  in  his  study  of  the  Indians,  in 
an  extensive  ^'lassitication  of  qualities,  contrasts  their  original  character 
in  their  "primiiive  and  disabused  state"  with  their  secondary  character 
after  "being  beaten  into  a  sort  of  civilization."  From  being  handsome 
he  says  they  had  become  ugly;  from  free,  enslaved;  from  affable,  re- 
served; from  bold,  timid:  from  warlike,  peaceable;  from  proud,  humble; 
from  independent,  dependent;  from  healthy,  sickly;  from  sober, 
drunken;  from  increasing,  decreasing;  from  landholders,  beggars. 


i 


;i\^en  by  a 
a  certain 
Dvernment 
I  he,  very 
came  than 
,  posterity; 
1  this  pro- 
e  latest  de- 

le  Indians, 
leir  mental 
3t  to  Indian 
rn  reserva- 


yi  the  Indians,  In 
dginal  character 
mdary  character 
being  handsome 
from  affable,  re- 
1  provid,  humble; 
,y;  from  sober, 
i,  beggars. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  annals  of  our  island  since  its  discovery 
and  occupation  by  the  whites  carry  us  back  to  an 
early  day.  Exi)lorers  from  France  and  settlers 
from  Canada  were  here  two  hundred  and  lifty 
years  ago.  Traces  of  Prem^h  and  Indian  mixture 
are  everywhere  seen.  Indian  wars  and  massacres 
have  reddened  these  shores.  Stories  of  English 
power  victorious  over  French,  in  far  back  colonial 
times,  have  a  part  in  the  history  of  this  region. 
In  a  later  day  the  island  had  its  stirring  incidents 
in  our  own  war  with  Great  Britain,  in  1812.  Here 
was  the  headquarters  of  the  Mackinaw  Fur  Company 
and  the  Southwest  Fur  Company,  and  afterwards 
of  the  powerful  American  Fur  Company,  of  which 
John  Jacob  Astor  was  the  chief  proprietor,  and 
which  made  our  island  for  the  time  the  largest  seat 
of  commerce  in  the  western  country.*  Christianity, 
too,  has  had  here  its  early  enterprises,  at  the 
hands  first  of  the  French  Jesuit  missionaries  of  the 
17th  Century,  and  afterwards  of  Protestantism. 

In  regard  to  early  military  annals,  history 
points  to  the  fact  that  with  the  exception  of  the 
brief  abandonm^mt  by  the  French  forces  from  about 
1701  to  1714,  this  region  of  the  straits  had  been  a 
seat  of  continuous  military  occupation   from  the 

*Detroit.  Vincennes,  St.  Louis,  Lake  Winnipej?.  Lake  of  the  Woods, 
and  other  fur  distant  points  were  but  dependencies  of  Michilimackinac, 
as  the  metropolis  of  the  Indian  trade, 

15 


16 


EAliLY    MACKINAC 


last  quju'lfM"  of  )li(^  17tli(MMitiir-y  down  1()l<*^or),  wlion 
to  tin;  surpriso  Jind  i'(vu:r«'t  oL'  till  who  k'licw  tlio 
isluiid's  lilstoi'v,  the  United  Slati'S  ( Joverninont 
tibolisliod  Iho  post.  T1ii"(h»  diffci'cnt  lla.n's  iiave 
floated  over  a,  tort  in  these  St  fails  of  AlacK'inaw 
durin*^  this  loriif  ])eriod  past.  Thes(»  havi;  been  in 
the  ord(!r  of  Frencli,  Eii«j:lish  Jiiid  American.  Tlio 
Fi'encli  wei'e  the  pionoei's.  They  estal)lished  Fort 
MicliirmiacK'inac,  over  when^  now  tlio  town  of  St. 
Ignacc  stands,  four  miles  across  on  the  northern 
l)eninsu]a.  This  was  about  two  hundred  and 
twenty -tive  years  a<2:o. 

Baron  La  Htjntan,  who  liad  come  from  France 
to  Canada  at  an  early  ii<i;i}  and  afterwai'ds  V)ecame 
Lord  Lieutenant  of  a  Fi*ench  Colony  in  Newfound- 
land, visited  our  Mackinac  neif^liborhood  in  1088. 
In  a  publicjition  of  his  travels  in  North  America  he 
gives  thi'ee  letters  fr'  n  tlio  Michilimakinac  settle- 
ment of  that  day.*  -  s  accompanying  his  picture 
on  the  adjoining  page  he  thus  wi-ites:  '"You  can 
scarce  bcdieve  what  vast  sholes  of  white  iish  are 
catched  about  the  middle  of  the  channel,  between 
the  continent  and  the  isle  of  Missilir^akinac.  The 
Out(wuas\  and  the  Hurons  could  never  subsist 
here,  without  that  fishery;  for  they  are  obliged  to 
travel  about  twenty  leagues  in  the  woods  befoi-e 
they  can  kill  any  harts  or  elks,  and  it  would  be  an 
infinite  fatigue  to  cai'ry  theii*  carcasses  so  far  over 
land.  This  sort  of  white  fish,  in  my  opinion,  is  the 
only  one  in  all  these  lakes  that  can  be  (tailed  good; 

*The  book  was  first  published  in  French,  1705.    Afterwards  an  ea- 
larged  edition  appeared  iu  English  form,  1735. 

tOttawas. 


)7),  when 
new  tho 
ri'iiinont 
o;s   havo 
[{icU'imiw 
bodi  in 
.in.     Tho 
hcd  Fort 
m  of  St. 
northern 
lr(Hl    and 

n  France 
s  became 
[ewfonnd- 
L  in  1688. 
merica  he 
lac  settle- 
is  picture 
"You  can 
o   iish  are 
,  between 
nac.    The 
r    subsist 
obliged  to 
)ds  before 
)uld  be  an 
;o  far  over 
lion,  is  the 
lUed  good; 


erwards  an  en- 


"3 
C 
3 
O 

1> 
u 
O 


"J 

;j 

c 
no 


ifi 


o 

X 


rjo 


U 


3   -^ 

■^    C 

0.    (9 


X 
'J 

u 
(/) 

a  Q. 
'J    c 


< 


5f 

'/)     3 

■-    O 


n 

c 

c 

3 

o 
ro 

!5 

ij 
in 

71 

c 
ro 


'ji 


'i 


•* 


LA   HOXTAN  S   LETTER. 


17 


and  indeed  it  goes  oeyoiid  all  other  sorts  of  river 
tisli.  Above  all,  it  lias  one  singular  property-, 
namely,  that  all  sorts  of  sauces  spoil  it,  so  that  it 
is  always  eat  either  boiled  or  broiled,  without  any 
manner  of  seasoning. 

••In  the  channel  I  now  speak  of.  tlie  current.i 
are  so  stj-ong  that  they  sometimes  suck  in  the  nets, 
tiiough  they  are  two  or  three  leagues  off.  In  some 
seasons  it  so  falls  out  that  the  currents  run  three 
days  eastward,  two  days  to  the  west,  one  to  the 
south,  and  four  northward;  sometimes  more  and 
sonu'tinu's  l(>ss.  The  cause  of  this  divei-sity  of 
currents  could  never  be  fathomed,  for  in  a  calm 
they  will  run,  in  the  space  of  one  day,  to  all  tiie 
points  of  tlie  compass,  i.  c,  sometimes  in  one  way, 
sometimes  anotlier,  without  any  limitation  of  time; 
so  tliat  the  decision  of  the  matter  must  be  left  to 
the  disci[)le  of  Copernicus. 

•Here  the  savage  catch  trouts  as  big  as  one's 
thigh;  with  a  sort  of  tishing-hook  made  in  the 
form  of  an  awl,  and  made  fast  to  a  piece  of  brass 
wire,  which  is  joined  to  the  line  that  reaches  to  the 
bottom  of  the  lake.  This  sort  of  tishery  is  carried 
on  uot  only  with  hooks,  but  with  nets,  and  that  in 
winter  as  well  as  in  summer. 

'•Thci  Outaomif!  and  the  Ifurnus  ha\e  very 
pleasant  tields,  in  which  they  sow  Indian  corn, 
pease  and  beans,  besides  a  sort  of  citruls  and 
melons.  Sometimes  thei^.e  savages  sell  their  corn 
very  dear,  es])ecially  when  the  beaver  hunting 
happens  not  to  take  well;  upon  which  occasion 
they  make  sutKcient  reprisals  upon  us  for  the  ex- 
travagant prico  of  our  commodities. " 


18 


EARLY   MACKIxXAC. 


For  a  shoi't  interval  the  French  Government, 
mider  tlie  instii^^ation  of  the  post  Coninumder, 
CadiHac,  Avitlulrew  the  «i'arrison  (as  ah-eady  men- 
tioned) and  abandoned  tills  region  as  a  military 
seat  in  favor  of  the  new  settlement  at  Detroit. 
That  was  about  the  opening  of  last  century.  But 
tills  vacating  was  soon  seen  to  be  bad  policy,  and 
in  1714  the  fort  was  re-established.  When,  how- 
ever, the  restored  fort  b(>comes  known  apiin  m 
history  it  is  found  located  on  the  Southern  Penin- 
sula, across  the  Straits,  where  now  stands  the 
railroad  town,  Mackinaw  Citv.  Whether  on  the 
return  from  Detroit  the  military  at  once  located  ihc 
fort  there,  oi*  first  resumed  the  old  site  at  St. 
Iirnace,  and  I'emoved  to  the  other  Peninsula  ut  some 
later  period,  is  not  definitely  known.  At  any  rate 
it  Avas  tlie  same  military  occu})ation,  and  the  same 
Fort  Michilimackinac,  irrespective  of  the  time  of 
change  in  the  site.  It  stood  about  half  a  mile  from 
the  present  Light  House,  and  soutliwesterly  from 
the  railroad  station;  and  was  so  close  to  the  water's 
edge  that  when  the  wi)id  was  in  the  west  the  waves 
would  often  break  into  the  stoclcade.  Its  site  is 
plainly  visible  'to-day,  and  visitors  still  find  relics 
in  tho  sand. 

After  the  conquest  of  Canada  by  the  English, 
in  the  deciding  l)attle  of  Quebec  on  the  heights  of 
Abraham  in  1759,  all  this  country  around  came  un- 
der the  English  flag.  The  Indians,  however,  liked 
better  the  French  dominion  and  their  pc^rsonal  re- 
lations with  the  French  peoi)le  than  tliey  did  the 
English  sway  and  English  associations,  and  they 
did  not  take  khidly  to  the  transfer.     One  reason 


PONTIAC  S    CONSPIRACY. 


19 


vornment, 
luuiuiiuler, 

a  military 
tt   Detroit, 
lury.     But 
policy,  cind 
lieu,  liow- 
1  ai^^aiu   in 
,ern  Peuin- 
staiicls   the 
;ber  on  the 
s  located  the 
site   tit   St. 
^ulantsome 
^t  any  rate 
id  the  same 
the  time  of 

a  mile  from 
sterly  from 
I)  the  water's 

t  the  waves 

Its  site  is 

ill  find  relics 

he  English, 
b  heii-Thts  of 
ind  came  un- 
wever,  liked 
|p(*rsonal  re- 
Ihey  did  the 
lis,  ami  they 
One  reation 


for  this  prefcu'ence  is  said  to  have  been  that  the 
B'rencli  were  accustomed  to  pay  respect  to  all  the 
ludiaijs'  religious  or  superstitious  observances, 
wliereas  an  Englishman  or  an  American  was  apt, 
eitlier  to  take  no  [)aius  to  conceal  liis  coutempt  for 
their  suixu'stitions  or  U)  speak  out  bluntly  against 
them.  To  this  can  be  add<Ml  the  well  known  fact  of 
the  greatcu'  n^adiness  of  the  French  to  intermarry 
and  domesticate  with  the  Indian.* 

This  stroug  feeling  of  discontent  under  the 
change  of  empire,  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  was 
fanned  and  skillfully  directed  by  that  gri^at  leader 
and  (liplomate,  Pontiac;f  and  "The  Conspiracy  of 
Pontiac"  is  the  well-known  title  of  one  of  Park- 
man's  series  of  Noi'th  American  liistory.  This 
conspiracy  was  no  less  than  a  deep  and  compre- 
hensive scheme,  maturcKl  by  this  most  crafty 
savage  chief,  for  a  general  Indian  rising,  in  which 
all  English  forts,  from  the  south  to  the  upper 
lakes,  Avere  to  be;  attacked  simultaneously,  and  the 
English  rule  forever  destroyed.  Th(.'  Indians  would 
vauntingly  say,  "You  have  conquered  the  French, 
but  you  have  not  conquc'red  us."  Out  of  twelve 
forts,  nine  were  takcm,  but  not  louir  held. 


*''When  the  Freuoli  iiirivt-d  :U  tin's  pliiL't','  said  a  Chli^ewa  Chief  at 
a  council  once  held  iit,  the  Siiull.  'th-'y  c;nne  and  i<issedus.  They  called 
us  I'hildreii  and  \vc  found  (liem  I'lithers,  We  lived  like  hrolhers  in  ^he 
same  lodf,'e.'  Sckoolcraft ,  in  (in  (uldrc.^s  hrfore  the  Miclii(jiin  HiMorical 
Society  i)i  ls;!0, 

"In  foi'iM^  of  cliaracter,  s\il)llety,  elotineiice  and  darinir,  l'ont!ao 
was  poriiaps  the  most  brilliant  man  the  Indians  of  N.nMh  America  have 
produced."— ••.!  Ilintonj  <>/  Cdnadn,"  by  Chas.  (!.  D.  h'oberts.  Schoolcraft 
rated  liim  in  the  saini'  way.  I)i-al<e.  in  his  •■Itulidii^  of  thr  Northwest.'* 
says  of  liim:  'His  fame  in  liis  time  was  not  couliuud  to  his  ovvu  coniiueati 
but  the  (,'azetLes  of  Europe  spread  it  also,"' 


20 


EARLY  MACKINAC. 


Wliilo  til  is  sclioii](>  Avas,  of  course,  a  failure  in 
its  larger  feat ui-os,  the  plot  as,^ai list  the  old  post  of 
Miclulimackiiiao  across  the  water  succeeded  only 
too  well.  The  strategy  and  liorrors  of  that  capture 
read  like  a  tale  of  lictioii.  The  story  is  olch  but  to 
r(>peat  it  in  tliis  sketch  will  not  be  amiss.  Jt  may 
be  introduced  under  the  title  of 

AN    iriSTORlC   BAr.L    GAME. 

In  ITOo  a  band  of  Ihirty-tive  English  soldiers 
and  their  ofticcrs  formed  its  garrison.  Encamped 
in  the  woods  not  far  off  was  a  large  number  of  In- 
dians. One  morning  in  the  month  of  Juius  with 
groat  show  of  friendliness,  the  Indians  invited  the 
soldiers  to  witness  their  match  game  ot  ball,  just 
outside  tlie  stock'ade.  The  Chippewas  were  to  play 
the  Sacs,*  TIkui,  as  now,  ball  playing  had  great 
fascination.  And  as  tliis  was  the  birthday  oC  the 
King  of  England,  and  the;  men  wer(3  in  the  celebra- 
ting mood,  some  indulgence  was  shown,  discipline 
for  a  time  rtdaxed,  gates  wcrii  left  ajar  and  the 
soldiers  and  ofKceis  carelessly  saunter(  d  and  look- 
ed on,  enjoying  tlu^  sport.  In  tlu^  cour.<e  of  play, 
and  as  a  part  of  the  pi-e-ccmcerted  stratagem,  the 
ball  was  so  struck  that  it  fell  within  the  stockade 
line  of  the  fort.  As  if  pursuing  it,  the  players 
came  rushing  to  the  gate.  The  soldiers,  intent  in 
watching  the  play,  suspected  nothing.  The  Indians 
now  had  an  open  Avay  within,  and  instantly  turned 
from  ball-plavers  into  warrioi's,  and  a  terrifvinc 
"whoop"  was  given.  The  squaws,  as  sharing  in 
the  plot,  were  standing  near  with  tomahawks  con- 
cealed under  tluMr  blankets.     These  were   seiz(>d. 


*J3ugguiiwuy  wufn  iljeir  Kiutl  uf  bull  game, 


ALEXANDEFl   HENRY. 


21 


I  fLiilure  ill 
3lcl  post  of 
;eodecl  only 
liiit  captur<.) 
,  old,  bub  to 
ss.     It  may 


iisli  soldiers 
Kiicampi'd 
luboL'  of  lu- 
[  Jmio,  Avilli 
;  iiivilod  the 
of  ball,  just 
i  wen^  U)  play 
ig  had  i;reat 
Ihday  of  the 
L  tlio  colebva- 
n.  discipline! 
|ajar  and  the 
( d  and  look- 
irse  of  play, 
■atagoni,  the 
Ithe  stockade 
the  players 
rs,  inu-nt  in 
The  Indians 
antly  turned 
a  terrifying 
,s  sharing  in 
ahawks  con- 
Avere   seized. 


and  then  followed  a  most  shocking  massacre.  Tlie 
surprise  of  the  fort  and  the  success  of  tlie  red  men 
were  complete. 

The  details  of  this  dreadful  event  are  vivid- 
ly and  luirrowingiy  given  by  the  English  trader, 
Alexander  Henry,  sojourning  at  tlie  time,  with  his 
goods,  within  the  stockade,  and  wlio  was  a  partici- 
pant in  the  dreadful  scenes  and  experiences.  Tlie 
humble  ILmry  may  Avell  Ijo  called  the  Father  of 
History,  like  another  Herodotus,  as  far  as  tliis 
e[)isode  is  ccmcei'ned.  Excepting  the  very  meagre 
re]v^rt  of  th(^  humiliating  capture  made  by  Captain 
Elherington,  the  officer  in  command,  there  seems 
to  be  nothing  but  the  narrative  of  this  Enii-lish 
trader.  His  description  of  the  fort,  the  purpose  it 
had  been  serving,  the  movements  of  the  Indians 
pi'eceding  the  affair,  as  widl  as  the  minute  descj-ip- 
ticmof  the  stratagem  and  its  success,  and  the  terri- 
ble scenes  enacted,  is  the  chief  source  of  informa- 
tion; and  one  can  take  up  no  history  of  this  jieriod 
and  this  locality  without  seeing  liow  all  writers  are 
indebt(Hl  to  his  plain  and  simple  narrative. 

When  the  foi't  was  captin*(Hl  by  the  savages, 
he  himself  was  hidden  for  the  fii'st  niglit  out  of 
their  miirderou><  reach,  but  was  discovered  the 
n(>xt  day.  Then  follow(Ml  a  series  of  experiences 
and  ]ia;i--breadth  escapes  and  turns  of  f(M'tuno  very 
remaikable,  while  all  tlie  tiuK^  the  most  bai'barous 
fate  S(M^med  imi)ending,  the  suspiMise  in  which  made 
his  sensations,  if  possible,  only  the  moi-e  distress- 
ful and  torturing.  It  was  not  enough  that  liis 
goods  wei'o  confiscated  and  his  very  clothes  stri})- 
ped  off  his  body,  but  his  savage  captors  thirsted 


■nil.  I 


Of) 


EARLY    MACKINAC. 


for  his  blood.  They  siiici  of  him  and  their  other 
prisoners,  that  they  were  bein<^  reserved  to  "make 
English  broth.''  After  fonr  dtiys  of  such  horrors 
there  came  a  turn  Avhich  Henry  says  gave  "a  new- 
color  to  my  lot.  "  During  his  residence  at  the  posi 
b<»foro  the  massacre,  a  certain  Cliii)pewa  Indian 
named  Wawatam,  who  used  to  come  frequently  to 
his  house,  had  become  very  friendly  and  told  him 
that  the  Great  Spirit  pointed  him  out  as  one  to 
adopt  as  a  brother,  and  to  regard  as  one  of  his  own 
family.  Suddenly,  on  the  fourth  day  of  his  cap- 
tivity, Wawatam  appeaiM>don  the  scene.  Before  a 
council  of  the  chiefs  lie  asked  the  release  of  his 
brother,  the  trader,  at  the  same  time  laying  down 
presents  to  buy  otf  whatever  claims  any  may  liave 
thought  they  had  on  the  prisoner.  Wawatam 's 
request,  or  demand  was  granted,  and  taking  Mr. 
Henry  by  the  hand  he  led  him  to  his  own  lodge 
wdiere  he  jeceived  the  utmost  kindness. 

A  day  or  two  afterwards,  fearing  an  attack  of 
retaliation  by  the  English,  the  whole  body  ol 
Indians  moved  from  the  fort  over  to  our  island  as 
a  place  of  greater  safely.  They  landed,  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  fighting  men.  Wawatam  wr.s  among 
them,  with  Henry  in  safe  keeping.  Scn-eral  days 
had  passed,  w^iien  two  large  canoc^s  from  Montreal. 
with  English  goods  aboard,  wei'e  seized  by  th<' 
Indians.  The  invoice  of  goods  contained  amonjj 
other  things,  a  large  stock  of  licpior,  and  soon  maci 
drunkenness  prevailed.  The  watchful  and  faithful 
Wawatam  told  Henry  he  feared  he  could  not  pro 
tect  him  when  tlie  Indians  w<M'e  in  licpior,  and 
besides,  as  he  frankly  confessed,   ''lie  could  not 


\ 


ALEXANDER  HENRY. 


2S 


L  their  other 
ed  to  '  'make 
;uch  horrors 
rave  "a  new 
e  at  the  post 
pewa  Indian 
"requenlly  to 
and  told  him 
ut  as  one  to 
ine  of  his  own 
Y  of  his  cap- 
le.     Before  a 
-elease  of  his 
layini?  down 
ny  may  liave 
Wawatam's 
d  taking  Mr. 
is  own  lodge 
ss. 

an  attack  of 
lole  body    ot 
ovir  island  as 
lhI,  three  hun- 
ni  wT.s  among 
Silver al  days 
om  Monti-eal. 
,(viz(Hl.  by  th(^ 
ained  ainonjj 
land  soon  mati 
I  and  faithful 
)iild  not  pro- 
licinor,   and 
he  could  not 


himself  resist  the  temptation  of  joining  his  com- 
rades in  the  debauch."  He  therefore  took  liiiii  up 
the  hill  and  back  in  the  woods,  and  hid  him  in  a 
cave,  wiiere  he  was  to  remain  hidden  "until  the 
liquor  shon.J'  be  drank."  After  an  uncomfortable 
and  nnrestful  night,  Henry  discovered  next  morn- 
ing, to  his  horror,  that  he  had  been  lying  on  a  iieap 
of  human  bones  and  skulls.  This  charnel-hou.se 
retreat  is  now  the  ^vell-known  "Skull  Cave"  of  the 
Island,  one  of  the  regular  stopping  places  of  the 
tourists'  carriages. 

But  we  cannot  follow  trader  Henry's  fortunes 
farther.  In  a  relation  between  gue.st  andi)ri.soner, 
and  generally  treated  with  i-espect,  moving  with 
the  band  from  one  place  to  anotJKU',  folhnving  the 
occupation  of  a  hunter,  and  taking  up  wilh  Indian 
life  and  almost  fascinated  by  it.  he  at  lengtii  tinds 
him.self  at  the  Sault,  Avhere  soon  an  opportunity 
open(>d  for  his  deliverance  and  his  return  home. 
Subsequently  he  made  another  trip  to  the  country 
of  the  upper  lakes  and  remained  fov  a  longer  time. 
Of  his  good  friend  Wawatam,  it  is  a  sad  tradition 
that  he  afterwards  became  blind  and  was  accidental- 
lyburned  in  his  lodge  on  the  island  at  the  Point. 
formerly  known  as  Ottawa  Point,  in  the  village, 
then  as  Biddle's,  and  more  recently  as  Anthony's 
Point. 

It  may  be  that  some  have  felt  incredulous  in 
respect  to  Henry's  thrilling  tale.  But  there  is 
reason  to  think  it  entirely  trustworthy.  It  is  con- 
tained in  a  book  which  he  wrote,  entitled  "Travels 
and  Adv(mtures  in  Canada  and  the  Indian  Teri-i- 
tories.  between  1760  and  1700."     It  was  first  pub- 


24 


EARLY  MACKINAC. 


lished  in  1808,  and  is  dedicatod  to  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  ''Baronot  of  his  Majesty's  Privy  Council 
and  President  ot  the  Ro^^al  Society/'  Some  copiers 
contain  the  author's  portrait.  It  has  loni^  been 
out  of  print,  and  copies  of  it  to-day  are  very  rare 
and  command  a  hi,ij;li  price.  Mr.  Henry's  residence 
in  his  latter  years  was  at  Montreal,  and  he  was 
still  living  as  late  as  IHll,  an  old  man  past  eighty 
years  of  age,  hale  and  clu^erful  looking.  He  bore 
a  good  name  and  an  nnquestioned  reputation  for 
veracity  among  those  wlio  knew  him.  I  have 
already  named  him  tlie  Herodotus  of  this  particular 
period  of  history.  By  another  person,  an  enthu- 
siastic English  visitor  at  Mackinac,  over  sixty 
years  ago,  he  was  called  also  the  Ulysses  of  these 
parts;  and  of  his  bool<:  it  was  said  it  bore  tlie  rela- 
tion to  the  Michilimackinac  shores  and  waters 
which  tlie  Odyssey  does  to  tlie  shores  of  Sicily.* 

*The  ehronolo^iciil  order  ia  which  early  travelers  iind  visitors,  who 
have  left  any  annals  of  their  journeys,  cianie  to  tliis  re^Lrioii,  may  l)e 
stated  as  follows:  Nieeollet,  in  lfi31;  Manniette,  KVri:  LM,Salle  and 
Hennepin.  Id?.*:  T.aPIontau.  108.S;  (Jharlevoix.  ];21:  Alexandcn-  lleury.  irn-.': 
Capt.  John  Carver,  176(5. 


% 


sir  Joseph 
ivy  C()iin(;il 
301110  coi)u^s 
^  loii^  boon 
0  vojy  riiro 
''s  rosidonco 
and  ho  AViis 
past  oighty 
^.     He  boro 
imtation  for 
in.      I  hiivo 
lis  part iouhir 
n,  an  onthu- 
ovor   sixty 
,ses  of  Ihoso 
jre  Uie  re  bl- 
and   waters 
of  Sicily.-^ 

iiiid  visitors,  who 
s  rcj^'ioii.  may  l>t' 
CM:  L;i,Siille  iuid 
iind(n-  llcury.  17()-'; 


CHAPTER  m. 

The  victory  of  \]\o  Indians  over  at  the  old  fort 
on  the  Sonlluu'ii  niainhnid  was  nothing-  beyond  a 
sliocK-inir  and  alrocions  ni-^ssacro.  It  was  ntt(^rly 
l);u'r<Mi  as  regards  any  p(Mm!inont  results,  and  the 
stains  of  snpreniacy  was  not  chanf^-f'!!.  T1h»  stoclc- 
a;lo  had  not  boon  destroyed,  and  lb-it isli  troops 
soon  came  and  I'osnraod  poss(^ssion.  SiiV)soqn(Mi11y, 
liowover.  th(;  rinostion  of  transferrin";  th(»  militaiy 
s<nit  of  the  Miohiliniaokinao  reii'ion  across  tho 
Straits  to  our  island  canK^  np.  and  was  duly  con- 
sidei'od.  Major  Sinolair  niad(^  a  cai'ofnl  prelimi- 
nary examination.  In  a  letter  written  in  OctoV)er, 
1779,  lie  savs:  "I  omploved  threo  davs  from  sun  to 
sun  in  oxamininii'  the  Ishmd  of  Maclcinac,  onwiiich 
I  found  i^Teat  quantities  of  excellent  oak,  elm. 
beoch   and    nuqije,    with    a    vein    of   tli(^   lar.ii"<'st 


and    finest    cedar    ti"(H>s    I    cvc'r    saw 


Tl 


le 


soil  is  exceedin.<;-lv  fine,   with  abundance  of  lim(^ 


ston( 


•:■;•  •;>     rp|^^,  situation  is  r(\s))('ctable,  and  con 
veniont  foi'  a   fort."      He   also   mentions   that   he 
found  on  the  island  "a  run  of  water,  sufticient    for 
a  saw  mill."' 

Ho  submitted  drawings  and  cuts  of  the  island, 
and  plans  for  fortiiicati(m.  to  (ion.  Ibildimand,  the 
officer  in  Cfunmand  of  tho  department,  and  whoso 
h(\idf(uarters  were  at  Quebec.  Th<^  superiority  of 
the  island,  as  a  stronii:  position  aii'aiiist  Indian 
attacks,  and  Indian  throats  and  insults,  was  pointed 

25 


—Igg 


26 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


out;  also  its  advanta^jfos  in  liavinj::  one  of  tho  best 
harbors  in  tbo  upp<M'  country,  and  as  rospocls  tlic 
tisliinj?  intorosts  likewise.  It  is  tboii^i'lit,  too. 
tiiat  1  lie  transfer  was  somewbat  connected,  in  the 
Britisb  mind,  with  the  American  war  oL"  liie  Revo- 
lution, which  was  then  in  pro<jrress.  Sinchiir  spoke 
of  the  "lialnlity  of  bein<4'  attacked  by  the  Rebels," 
at  the  old  fort,  and  that  tlie  phice  mi.ii-ht  "justly  be 
look(Kl  upon  as  the  object  of  a  sc^parato  exjx'di- 
tiou. "  As  a  precautionary  nu^asure,  he  made  every 
ti-ader  take  oath  of  alle.e:iance  to  the  kiuf?,  and  to 
hold  in  "detestation  and  al)horrence  the  present 
unnatural  and  horrid  rebellion."  At  any  rate,  the 
f^ariison  did  not  feel  safe  in  a  mere  stockade  of 
timbci's  on  the  mainland.  Gen.  Haldimand  ac- 
cord! nirly  o-avo  orders  for  the  removal.  The  fol- 
lo\vin<:^  letter  on  the  subject  was  wn-itten  by  him, 
April  10,  1780,  to  Major  DePeyster,  formerly  in 
command  of  the  old  Mackinac  fort,  but  w^ho  hud 
been  transferred,  the  year  before,  to  the  command 
at  Deti-oit.* 

"Sir — Havinglon^  thou^^ht  it  w^ould  be  expedi- 
ent to  remove  the  fort,  etc.,  from  its  present 
situation  to  the  Island  of  Michilimaclcinac,  and 
bein.o:  encouraged  in  this  undertakin.i?  by  advauta- 
jjos  enum(U"ated  by  Lt.  Gov.  Sincliiir,  that  must 
result  from  it,  and  the  eai'nest  desire  of  the  traders. 


■■'■Miijor  DoPeystor  was  of  Ameru^an  birth,  and  hart  served  in  tho 
BriUsli  army  in  various  parts  of  this  country,  besides  connnandin^f  at 
Maekinac,  and  afterwards  at  Detroit.  He  held  a  commission  for  7." 
years,  and  Uved  to  the  a:-'e  of  Oi!.  He  spent  his  hitter  years  in  Dumfries 
Seothmd.  the  early  home  of  his  wife.  Durinj,'  his  residenee  there,  he 
and  the  poet  Burns  were  ^reat  friends.  Burns  addressed  one  of  his 
fugitive  poems  to  DePeyster, 


RIOMOVAL   TO  THE   ISLAND. 


27 


of  tlio  host 
rospoels  tlic 
loiiji'lit,   too. 
;cUh1,  in  tlio 
of  iho  Revo- 
iiichiir  spoko 
the  Rebels," 
ht  "justly  hv 
irate  exixitli- 
.e  made  even- 
king,  and  to 

tlie  pr(^sent 
any  rate,  the 
s  stockade  of 
iklimand  ac- 
■al.  The  fol- 
tten  by  him, 
formerly  in 
but  who  htul 

;he  command 

aid  be  expedi- 
its    present 

acldnac,  and 
by  advanta- 
r,  that  must 
f  the  traders. 


Iv.Kl  served  in  the 
•s  eomnumdinjf  at 
coiuniissiou  for  7r" 
yeiirs  in  Dmu fries 
esideuoe  there,  he 
Idresse'J  one  of  his 


I  have  f]fiven  directions  that  necessary  preparations, 
by  collectinc^  materials,  (»tc.,  b<>  mud<^  with  as  much 
exj)edilion  as  ])ossible,  as  the  strength  of  that  post 
will  admit  of.  I  am  sure  it  is  uniHU'essaiy  to 
recommcMid  to  you  to  furnish  him  (>vei'y  assistance 
ho  may  re([uire.  and  tliat  Dctj'oit  can  affoi-d,  in  foi'- 
warding  this  work,  farther  than  by  giving  you  my 
sanction  for  the  same,  which  I  do  in  the  fullest 
manner. " 

A  government  house  and  a  few  other  buildings 
were  at  once  erected  on  the  site  of  the  present 
village;  the  old  block  houses  were  built,  and  His 
Majesty's  troops  took  possessicm  on  the  llJtii  of 
July,  1780,  Major  Sinclair  commanding,  though 
the  entire  removal  was  only  gradually  etfticted. 

The  Indians,  as  proprietors  of  the  land,  had 
been  first  consulted  about  this  occupancy,  and 
agreeuKmt  and  treaty  tiu'ins  were  obtained.  The 
consideration  was  £5.000.  Two  deeds  were 
signed,  with  their  mark,  by  four  chiefs,  in  behalf 
of  themselv(^s  and  all  the  Chippewas.  On(^  was  to 
be  lodged  with  the  Governor  of  Caiuida.  and  one  to 
remain  at  the  island  t)ost;  while  the  chiefs  engaged 
to  preserve  in  their  villages  a  belt  of  wampum 
seven  feet  long,  to  be  a  memorial  of  the  ti'ans- 
action.  But  it  seems  that  aft(U'  the  woi'k  was 
under  way  and  the  ])ost  established,  the  Indians 
showed  discontent,  and  threatened  the  ti'oops;  and 
so  serious  was  the  hostility  manifested,  that 
Sinclair  sent  in  great  haste  to  Detroit  for  cannon. 
The  vessel  was  back  in  eight  da3^s,  bringing  the 
guns,  and  as  soon  as  she  touched  on  the  harbor  she 
fired  a  salute,   and  that  "speaking  out"  by  the 


'n 


,a, 


2 

:■$■ 


u-f^^^p^S^^^^X.  f.  M 


28 


EARrA'  MACKINAC. 


cannon's  month  at  onco  sottlod  Iho  (luostiou,  and 
the  poor  Indians  had  no  more  to  say. 

The  old  site  bein^"  abandoiiod  (sinco  wlion  it  is 
often  referred  to  as  "Old  Maclcinaw."  )  and  tlie 
^ari'ison  remov(Hl,  the  families  of  the  little  settle- 
ment, could  not  do  otherwise  than  follow  the  fort. 
Many  of  the  houses  were  taken  down  and  trans- 
ported piecemeal  across  the  sti'aits,  and  set  np 
a.ii'ain  as  new  homes  on  the  island.  And  hai'dly 
wei-e  the  settlers  thus  re-established  before  they 
address(Hl  a  iielition  to  the  c^overninent,  asking  for 
remmie ration  to  compensate  for  the  loss  and  ex- 
pense incurred,  on  the  ^ronnd  that  their  removal 
was  in  the  interest  of  the  State  and  th»^  public  wel- 
fare. What  response  was  made  to  this  petition  I 
have  found  no  record  which  tells. 

The  first  commandant  of  the  island,  Major 
Sinclair,  was  also  known  as  Lieutenant  Governor. 
It  appears  that  he  had  been  appointed  inspector 
and  superintendent  of  the  Eng"lish  forts,  and  boro 
some  g-eneral  civic  position  as  repi'esent alive  of 
the  government,  besid(\s  his  militai-y  rank;  also  as 
having  chai-ge  of  Indian  affaii-s.  Hence  he  is  fre- 
quently spoken  of  in  the  records  as  Gov.  Sinclair,  as 
well  as  Major.  It  seems  to  have  been  on  this  ac- 
count, as  an  officer  with  a  more  embracing  scope, 
ratlun*  than  as  of  higher  military  rank,  that  h(^ 
superseded  Major  DePeyster,  in  command  at  old 
Maclicinac.  in  1779.  After  the  trans! er  he  remain- 
e<l  two  years  in  charge  of  tlie  new  post.  Sinclair 
appears,  from  the  style  of  his  letters  and  reports,  n 
more  cultured  and  better  educated  nnxn  than  som(> 
of  his  cotemporaries  among  the  officers  of  thai 


CAPTAIN    KOHi:UTSON. 


29 


luoslion.  aiul 

CO  vvlK^n  it  is 
i',"' )  and   tlic 

little  settle- 
low  the  fort, 
ni  Jind  tvaiis- 
,   and   set  up 

And  hardly 
.  before  they 
at.  ask  in. 2:  for 

loss  and  ex- 
;h«^ir  removal 
lie  public  wel- 
his  petition  1 

island,   Major 
nt  Governor, 
ted  inspector 
|rts,  and  boro 
•esent alive  of 
rank;  also  as 
ce  he  is  fre- 
v.  Sinclair,  as 
on  this  ac- 
'acing  scope, 
ank,  that  h(^ 
mand  at  old 
r  he  remain- 
)st.     Sinclair 
|ind  reports,  a 
n  than  some 
cers  of  thai 


period.  But  liis  sei'vicos  as  a  post  commandant 
and  gcniM'al  maiuinci"  of  affairs,  seem  to  jiav(»  b»'on 
unsai isfactorv.  b<'cause  of  his  la\ish  cxiMMuliturcvs 
and  becausi'  of  "abuses  and  noglocts  in  diffci'ciit 
slia[»c>.  "  as  it  \vas  said.  He  Avas  continually  being 
cautioned  from  licadcpiartors  in  regard  to  hi^■. 
financial  tfansactions.  For  lialf  a  centui'y  and 
m()i'(>.  after  h«»  left  the  ]>ns1,  t!u^  inlialjitants  con- 
1inu('(l  i()  talk  al)()ul  liis  (wti'avagaiice;  and  one  of 
till!  st()i'i(\s  long  current  on  tht^  island,  was  that  he 
had  i)aid  at  the  rati.*  f)f  one  dollar  ])er  stump  for 
clearing  a  eedar  swamp  in  tlie  government  tields 
at  the  w<^st  (Mid  of  tlie  village.  It  subsequently 
a"pp(\n's  that,  on  his  return  to  England,  this  reclv- 
lessni^ss  in  (expenditure  while  on  the  ishmd  led  I0 
his  imprisonment  for  debt.  He  sp(e*iks  himself,  in 
one  of  his  letters,  of  being  "liberated  upon  paying 
the  Michilimakinac  bills  protested." 

Major,  or  Governoi*,  Sinclair  was  succeeded  by 
Captain  Daniel  Rob<>rtson,  who  seems  tohav(3  been 
in  command  from  17b'2  to  IT^^T.  This  Robc^rtson  is 
also  called  Robinson,  and  is  tlie  one  whose  name 
will  probal)ly  be  always  associated  with  the  island, 
and  a  figure  mark  in  the  guide  books  and  the 
traditiomiry  stories — for  when  will  "Robinson's 
Folly"  cease  to  be  visited  and  talked  about? 

The  ofticial  annals  of  that  time  shov/  a  great 
many  of  Captain  Robinson's  letters,  written  while 
he  was  commandant  of  the  post,  He  seems  to  have 
been  a  rough-and-ready,  energetic  officer;  not  very 
elegant  in  his  style  of  composition  or  his  6rthogra- 
phy.  prosaic  and  practical,  and  perhaps  not  quite 
fulfilling  the  sentimental  and  romantic  ideal  which 


ss 


30 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


somp   of   the  leii-onds  and    storios,  connoclhiir   lii-. 
namo  \\\\]i  tin-  •"Kolly."'  would  su.n-ii<^st.      In  ono  oi' 
his  reports  oi'  lliis  rinn\  a  vrry  ivood  ])lat    is  ii-i\(Mi, 
^li()\vin,ii"  llio  contour  of  liio  isiand  I'.iui  llu^  location 
oi"    tli(^    I'oi't.    and    tlic  ]iai-l)or   hcai'iuj:^    lln*    name. 
"1  laldiinaud's  I'.ay.""  nauuHl.  pfivsiiinahly.  in  lionor 
of  llic  ^Lnii•li^il  coiuukuuUm' of  tlic  province."'      In  ;'. 
lott(M'   of   Api'ii,    IT^;'),   tlu»   C*ap'ain  commends  the 
clinuite    of    rvhu'k'iiuic    as    --prid'tM-ahlo    to    any    in 
Ciinada.  and  very  liealt  liy  :'*   hut   he  says   *-it   is  an 
e\pensi\('  ])lact\"     llt>  tells  in    17>1  of  tin*  whai'l' 
b(>in,i;"  ItfoK'iMi  'o  piiH-es  hy  tin.  ice.  so  that    no  K'ind 
i4' cral'l  could    he  loaded  or  nnloaxUnh   but  that   he 
sot  men   to  work  and  liot   it    in  r«'paii-.      He  acUls: 
"It^    was    a   veiT   troublesome  Jol)."     He    wants   to 
k'lnnv.  lie  says,  in  one  of  his  IcMlers,  wluM  her  or  not 
he  is  to  "iKiveany  rnui:"aiul  aii'ain  lie  says,   ht^   is 
at   a   loss  to  know  how   lie  is  to   [ici    at   this    ])()st 
without  that  rKpior,  and  he  is  sorry  lu^   is    ••obliiz-od 
to  criime  and  borrow  rum  I'vom  traders  on  account 
of  ( JovernnuMit. "     Al   anotliei"  time  he   wi'ites.    "I 
have  had  no  rum  this  season,   and   you  Know   it.  is 
th(^  Indian's  (lod.  "     Ami  yet  aiiain  \\o  ])oui's   forth 
his   complaint:    "Kuni  is  v<M'y  much  want«Hl   hor*^ 
for  \arious  ])ur]n)ses.  ])articularly  for  Indians,  and 
i  ha\e  had  only  seven  barr»>ls  this  IweK*^  Uionth."' 
However,  it  is  but  dui^  to  tli(»  Captain   to  say 
thai.     unft)rtiinat«dy.     he    was    not     alotie     in     this 
o})inion  of  the  iudisp(Misal)leness  of   riuii  in   tlu'   re- 
lations of    the   wiiiles   and    the    inilitarv    with    the 


*'rii(>  iKUiu'  w  as  fvidiMillv  t-'ivi'ii  >i|r  t'ti'f  ilu-  Uiiusd  chiuiircd  iisllat: 
In  Ihf  cai'ly  »la,vs,  s\iiiNciun.'ut.  il  \v:'.>  luimliarlv  tlesi^'Mutod  hy  tlio  island 
pL'Dplu  us  "The  Humu.  ' 


1? 


THK    FOKT    (;RATn\\LLY    Bril.T. 


31 


t.      In  oiH^  oi' 
ilal    is  ii-'iV(Mi, 
\\\o  location 
[V    lln»    n:iiiK\ 
l)ly.  in  lionor 
viiKT.'"'     Jn  a 
i)iiinu'U(ls  tlu^ 
o    to    any    in 
ays   '-il   is  an 
of  tlio  wliai'L" 
tlnit    no  Isind 
.  bnl   tlial  he 
ir.      1I(>  adds: 
Ho   wan  is   1(^ 
kvluM  luM'  OI"  not 
\o  says,   lii^  is 
at  this   post 
i^  is   •"ohiiizod 
s  on  account 
li(^   writes,    "l 
»n  Iviiow   it    is 
^  poui's   f'oiMli 
^\•anttHl   liore 
Indians,  and 
t'l\  c  niont li." 
iptain   to  say 
one     in     tliis 
111  in    tlie   re- 
rv    with    tlic- 


Indians,  'Wc'  find  Major  Sinclair,  his  predecessor, 
lis  commandant  of  tln^  foiM.  Avi'itin.ir  to  general 
Haldimaiid  in  17S1.  as  follows:  *"Tho  Indians  can- 
not \)o  dc)»riv«Hl  of  neai'ly  their  usual  fpiantity  of 
rum.  liow(n(»r  Icstrnctivc^  it  is.  witliout  creatin,2: 
much  discontent."  TIum'c^  is  ii  sad  vein  ruiniing 
tlironuli  all  this  (\irly  liistory.  made  by  rum;  first 
as  one  of  the  ii'ovei-nment  suppli«'s  to  the  Indians, 
and  next  as  an  ai'ticle  of  traffic.  Th»*  p«H)r  rec' 
ni<Mi  facetiously  calUn^  it  "'The  EuL-'lisli  Milk;*'  bi  j 
tlieii-  moi'e  st'i'ious  name  for  it  \vas  llie  truer  on(.', 
'"Fii'e  water."* 

Robertson.  (Robinson^  was  in  conimand  from 
17'^-  to  17S7.  Tiiere  ai'(>  intimations  of  bis  havinir 
been  di.sapiu'oved  at  (ieii,  Haldimand's  head- 
quai'tei's.  Cai)tain  SccMt  succee(hMl  liim  —  "sent  in 
tlie  I'oom  of  Robertson,"  as  tlii^  I'ecoi'd  reads.  It  is 
repoi'ied  of  Scot t.  tlia.t  '"lie  ii*a.ine<l  infinite  civtlit 
at  Mackinac  but.  poor  f(dlow,  his  po(  'a't  had  paid 
foiit."  He  was  folio  W(^d  by  Captain  Doyle,  who 
Seems  to  havt^  remained  in  commaiul  of  tlie  i»ost 
nntil  its  deliv«M-y  to  the  United  States. 

The  f(n't  was  not  built  com]>let(^  at  onc<'.  but 
g'raxhially  took  on  its  dimensions  and  its  streiiirlh. 
In  17^*.t,  aftei'  an  inspection  by  the  Kn?.'ineei-'s 
BepaiM  mem.  t  he  I'ortiticatiims.  as  oi-i,<rinally  desii^-n- 
ed.  were  reported  as  beini:-  only  in  ]>art  executed, 
and  tliat  the  woru  had  b(>en  discontinued  foi*  some 


clKiniriMi  iis  Hilt: 
|;i;cil  I'v  llu-  islauU 


*n.  M.  Hol'iiisoii  in  liis  iiiMMfiiiii!,'  hook.  -Thi*  Crin-al  Kur  I..n«l." 
descriptivf  of  tlif  ri'trioiis  of  tlit>  Uiulson  s  Hay  ( 'oiupaiiv.  -vavs  of  thtr 
Jmlian's  liijuoi'.  ■It.  iiiiisi  Itc  siron^r  <'iioii;-'h  lo  lti>  iuHaiuiual.  e  for  he 
fclwavN  icsis  ii  by  iioiiriii;-' a  Icsv  tlrops  in  t  lie  tin-  " 

••'rill- fiTi'.'is  of  artltni  Njiiiiis  in  Uu"  lo^l^M^  arc  t'ljuai  lo  the  appear- 
anor  of  a  trrizzly  boar  anioufsl  Ihvm.    -Schoolcm ft. 


■*•— r-"~7     Uflt 


rvmiu'TiiimiifinfTr 


ssss 


32 


EAKI.Y    MACKINAC. 


years,  and  lliat  in  tlu'  iiiraii  lime  a  sIioug-  pickol- 
\]]iX  had  l)i'<Mi  creeled  afouiid  the  iiiilini:>lied  \v:n"l\:-. 
And  'ciii-ain,  as  liO.o  as  ]7'Ji'.  the  phiiis  wiM'e  i-eporinl 
ii8  not  .yet  finished;  the  ol'tieers"  sloiie  ([uarlers  were 
only  about  half  e.>in])lei(>d;  tlie  \\alls  Avei'i^  up  th* 
full  h(Mii']d  and  th<'  window  tVanit's  in.  hut  1  he  root 
and  Jloors  wantin.ii".  (Shafp  erilieisni  was  niad<>. 
too,  hy  ihe  oftieer  then  inspect  inu'.  on  tiie  wliol< 
desi.iz'ii  ol'  tlie  t'oiM.)  And  yet,  aizain,  in  ITHo,  th-' 
commandant.  C'a[>lain  Doyle,  writes  eone<'rniii,L;- 1  h- 
"rninons  stale  of  t  Ik,' i'ort.  "  but  says  he  purposed 
"sondiiii.;'  to  the  saw  mill  h»r  phitd\s.  and  wouM 
give  the  I)aiTael\S  a  llioronL:h  repaii',  having;'  re- 
coi\ed  or(h'rs  from  His  Kxeoilency.  Maj.  Oen. 
Clarke,  to  thai  ])iir[)e>,'>-"  .'so  ask-ini;-  i'or  ••an 
enii'ineer  and  -ome  artitic(  ■  >  i  >  render  Ili«'  misera- 
ble fort  re. -s  in  some  de.ii'rec^  tenal)le  "' 

It  is  not  a  fort  of  to-day's  eonsti'uction.  It  is 
a  militai'y  strnetui'iM)!'  a  eenlury  ag^o,  a  meiiKMito 
of  the  past,  and  J'eplele  in  hi.sioi'ie  remini.secniee. 
As  a  fort iticat ion.  it  is  ii  curious  mixture  of  Ameri- 
can from  ier  post  and  old-world  castle.  Its  thick 
walls  and  sally-ports,  and  bastions  and  ditch. 
alon.i;'  with  its  old  block-houses  of  lo;-;s.  loo[»-holed 
for  niusK'etry;  its  slopin.n'  path  dow»'  ''•  the  villajiO 
str(M>t,  buttrtv^sed  aloni;'  tlu^  hill  ■  h'  v,  i!h  In^avy 
niasonrv.  al)o\c  which  li'i'ow  ii'ras,^  ,  ::.''  ciMlars  nn 
to  the  foot  oL"  the  overlookinu^  old  **)• 'ce-"s  cpiar- 
\oi's' — all  this  mak'<'S  il  astriicinii'  and  plclures;iuc 
object,  a  sort  of  mounlaln  I'orlress,  and  cerlaiiily 
SQUiethin.ij^  uni(pH>  in  this  country. 


iIsImhI  \v:n'k;^. 

were  rt'])Ol'ti'd 
(|n;irU'rs  wrw^. 

;    AVtM-O    li[)    tin 

I.  liiit  llu'  roof 
>iii   Nvas  uiadc 
oil   tin'   wliol*' 
1,   ill  17*.>:'.,  tli'« 
concern  iiigMlir 
s  lu'  purposoil 
vS.    iiiul    wouM 
111'.   liiiN'ini;'  re- 
ic'v.   Maj.   r.cn. 
skin.ii:   J'oi'    ••an 
liT  tluj  luisora- 

riK'lion.  11  '> 
(),   ;i  nionionld 

[  r(Mnini.sc(MU'<\ 
lure  of  Aniori- 
lie.     Its  Ih'K'k 

|)ns   and   ditcli. 

us,   l()0[>-holo'l 

■,  I.'  the  villaii'O 

r    V  ini   lu^avy 

■  '  (MMlai-s  lit) 

,:■  \-o  '"s  fpiar- 

jUl     pirtlllVStllK' 

iiiul  coi'Uiinly 


<0        ,' 


c 


?^a"iiiim'i,."^'"r»i»uii»ii' 


'I'lurii  lij^iii^i 


■iii'i  i.ii^i  ••.  i  ■    'hi  gi^iY,  iT.i'fet>a^^SS 


I  CHAPTER  IV. 

Althoug-li  the  war  of  the  Revolution  had  been 
fougljt,  unci  American  independence  acknowledged; 
and  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  1783 had  secured  all  this 
upper  lake  country  on  the  same  boundary  lines  as 
Ave  have  them  to-day,  yet  it  was  thirteen  years 
afterwards  before  the  American  Hag  floated  over 
the  island  fort.  It  was  the  same  also  in  respect  to 
four  or  live  other  posts  which  were  situated  on  the 
American  side  of  the  lakes.  Washington,  then 
President,  sent  Baron  Steuben  to  Gen.  Haldimand, 
commissioned  to  receive  tliem;  but  Haldimand  re- 
plied he  had  no  instructions  from  his  government 
to  make  the  delivery,  and  that  he  could  not  even 
discuss  the  subject.  The  Government,  too,  by 
John  Adams,  our  minister  to  England,  had  insisted 
on  the  same,  but  witliout  effect.  England  urged 
in  explanation  of  her  course,  tliat  it  was  due  to  an 
imperfect  fulfil Iment  on  our  side  of  some  of  the 
treaty  stipulations.  It  required  another  treaty 
(this  matter,  however,  being  only  one  of  many 
points  embraced  in  it)  before  the  tardy  transfer  of 
these  stations  on  the  conlines  was  eff<*cted.  It  was 
then  agreed  that  on  June  1st,  3700,  they  should 
be  evacuated  by  the  English.  Owing  to  delays  on 
the  part  of  Congress,  our  occupation  of  the  posts 
was  d«>ferred  beyond  that  date.  As  Washington 
said  in  his  address  to  Congress,  December,  1796: 


34 


EARLY    MACKINAC. 


"Tlio  jiLM'iod  (iiu'iiig  Iho  lute  session,  at  wliieli  llio 
appropriation  was  passed  for  carrying  into  elLct 
tlie  treaty  of  amity,  commerce  and  navigation,  In^. 
tween  the  United  States  and  His  Britannic  Majesty, 
necessarily  procrastinated  the  recei)tion  of  tin; 
posts  stipulated  to  be  delivered,  beyond  the  dale 
assigned  for  that  event."  He  adds:  "As  soon. 
however,  as  the  Governor  General  of  Canada 
could  be  addressed  with  propriety  on  the  subject, 
arrangements  were  cordially  and  prouiptly  con- 
cluded for  tlieir  evacuation,  and  the  United  Stal("> 
took  possession  of  them,  comprehending  Oswoiid, 
Niagara,  Detroit,  Michilimackinac  and  Ft.  Miami."'' 
In  the  case  of  Fort  Mackinac,  it  was  not  until 
October  2nd,  of  that  year,  that  the  actual  transi'i'i 
was  made. 

But,   besid(^s  negotiating  with  the  Euglisli  ii 
the  recovery  of  Mackinac,  the  American  govriii 
numt  had  to  deal  with  another  class  of  proprietor^ 
— the  original  possessors  of  the  soil.     Accordingly, 
while  the  delivery  of  tlie  island  and  post  was  stiL 
ixmding,   Chrn.  Waynes  ti-eaty   with  the   Indians 
(Treaty  of  Greenville)  was  made  in  August,   171'.'^ 
by  which  "a  tract  of  land  was  ceded  on  the  main 
to  the  north   of  the  island  on  w^hich  the  post  o 
Micliilimackinac   stands,  to  measure  six  miles  v 
Lakes  Huron  and  Micliigan,  and  to  extend  tln-( 
miles  back  from  the  w^aters  of  the   lake   on  t! 
strait."  t     Boi.s  Blanc,  or  White  Wood  Island,  w: 
also  ceded  as  the  voluntary  gift  of  the  Ghippe^\  ;i 
The  Indians  were  to  receive  ^1^8,000  annually,  besidt 
J?2().000  then  distributed. 


♦Amerloau  Statu  Piipers.   1Holmei^'  Amcrlcuu  Annuls,  Vol  2.  v  ^ 


REPAIRS   ORDERED. 


35 


vt  which  Iho 
icr  into  etTccl 
vi gat  ion,  hiv 
LuucMiijesty. 
ption  of  11 10 
'ond  the  clai»' 
s:   "As  soon. 
a    of    Ciuiiula 
1  the  subj'H't, 
)roiiiplly   con- 
United  Stuu^ 
idiuJ^'  Os\V(>iic>. 
(iFt.  Miami." ■■• 
was  not  uiiii 
victual  transfer 

tlio  English  ii 
icrican  govoni 
of  proprietor^ 
Accordinii'ly, 

post  was  stil 
Lh  the  Indians 
1  August,  I'*-''' 
d  on  the  nraiu 
ich  the  post  o. 
re  six  miles  o; 
to  extend  thrr 
lie  lake  on  t' 
'ood  Island,  av; 

the  GhippcAwi^ 
.vnnLially,besi<K 


lu  Auaals,  Vol.  2.  V 


Perhaps  the  iinlinislied  state  of  the  ])ost,  as 
reported  in  1792,  and  11  le  complaint  made  of  its 
condition  in  1793,  and  its  sore  need  of  repairs, 
(referred  to  above),  may  be  explained  on  the 
ground  that  the  English  authorities,  well  knowing 
it  was  within  American  lines,  and  apprehending 
that  it  must  soon  pass  out  of  their  control,  deemed 
it  unwise  to  incur  any  large  expenditure  on  it. 
In  fact,  we  tind  Captain  Robertson  saying  in  a 
letter,  as  early  as  1784,  that  in  compliance  with 
ord(}rs  he  had  receiv(xl,  no  more  labor  was  given 
to  a  post  which  by  treaty  had  been  ceded  c<>  the 
Americans,  than  was  necessary  to  '■command  some 
resi)ect  for  the  safety  of  the  garrison  and  traders, 
surrounded  as  I  am  by  a  great  number  of  Indians 
not  in  the  best  humor. ''  It  is  probablo,  therefore, 
that  wluni  at  length  it  came  into  our  liands  it  was  in 
need  of  considerable  attention,  for  we  tind  Washing- 
ton, in  the  same  address  to  Congress  just  quoted 
from,  saying  of  these  x^osts  that  "such  repairs  and 
additions  had  been  ordered  as  appeai'cd  indis]-)en- 
sable."*  It  is  also  probable  that  the  American 
foi'ce  sent  to  occupy  the  post  at  tlu^  dispart  ure  of 
the  British  soldiers  was  quite  imposing,  as  we  have 
Timothy  Pickering,  Washington's  Secretary  of 
War,  in  his  report  of  February,  179(3,  saying:  "To 
appear  respectable  in  the  eyes  of  our  Ih-itish 
neiglibors,  the  force  with  which  we  tak(»  possession 
of  th(^se  posts  should  not  be  mah^rially  less  than 
that  with  Avliich  they  now  occ'upy  tlieni.  This 
measure,"  he  adds,  "is  also  important  in  relation 
to  the  Indians,  on  wliom  first  impn.'ssions  may 
have  very  beneticial  (Mfects.  "  *     Accoi'dingly,    the 

"•AnieiiiMu  Sill', e  i'upers, 


';:*y 


86 


KAKLY   MACKINAC. 


first  detachment  to  occupy  Mcickinac,  as  an  Ameri- 
can garrison,  consisted  of  four  officers,  one  com- 
pany of  Artillery  and  Engineers,  and  one  company 
of  Infantry,  Major  Henry  Burback  being  in  com- 
mand of  the  wliole  force.  The  British  retired  to 
the  ishmd  of  St.  Joseph,  on  the  Canada  side  a  little 
Tobove  Detour,  and  established  a  fort  there. 

Following  the  change  of  flag  and  sovereignty, 
nothing  very  stiri-ing  seems  to  have  developed  in 
the  island  history  during  the  years  immediately 
succeeding.  It  soon  became,  however,  a  great 
commercial  seat  and  emporium  in  the  wilderness, 
The  chief  commodity  was  furs.  Prom  an  early 
day  this  had  been  a  business  carried  on  by  the 
individual  tradei'S  who  went  among  the  Indians. 
Later  many  of  those  engaged  in  it  combined,  and 
about  1787  formed  the  famous  "Northwest  Com- 
pany. "'  which  became  a  most  powerful  organization, 
and  which  "held  a  lordly  swa}^  over  the  wintiy 
lakes  and  boundless  forests  of  the  Canadas,  almost 
equal  to  that  of  the  East  India  Company  over  the 
realms  of  the  Orient."  Its  headquarters  w^as  Fori 
William,  on  Lake  Superior,  and  the  fields  of 
operation  lay  principally  in  far  northern  latitudes. 
The  success  of  this  company  led  to  similar  enter- 
jiriscs  in  the  territory  lying  south  and  west,  with 
our  island  as  the  head-center.  There  w^as  a 
"Mackinaw  Company,"  and  a  "Southwestern 
Company,"  which,  uniting  under  John  Jacob  Astor, 
became  the  "American  Fur  Company."  This, 
together  wnth  other  lines  of  traffic  which  it  stimu- 
lated, made  the  island  for  many  yeai-s  a  great  com- 
mercial seat.    It  is  reported,  for  instance,  for  the 


WASHINGTON    IKVTNG'S  SKKTCII. 


37 


;,  as  an  Amori- 
;ers,  one  coni- 
1  one  company 
being  in  com- 
lish  retired  to 
ida  side  a  littlf 
;  there. 

d  sovereignty, 
3  developed  in 
•s  immediately 
7ever.    a  great 
he  -wilderness. 
H'rom  an  early 
ied  on  by  the 
ig  the  Indians, 
combined,  and 
orthwest  Com- 
1  organization, 
er  the  wintiy 
[anadas,  almost 
pany  over  the 
Irters  was  Foil 
the  fields    of 
tiern  latitudes, 
similar  enter- 
,nd  west,  with 
There   was   u 
Southwestern 
m  Jacob  Astor, 
pany."     This, 
hich  it  stimiv 
a  great  com- 
tance,  for  the 


year  1804,  that  the  goods  entered  at  the  Mackinac 
Custom  House  yielded  a  revenue  to  the  United 
States  of  about  ^5^00,000. 

Wliile  at  this  time  our  island  ^vas  United  States 
territory,  and  the  fort  with  its  ever  floating  Hag 
was  a  vi.sible  token  of  its  Americanism;  the  village^ 
as  a  whole,  with  its  Indian  and  French  i)opulation 
and  its  style  of  construction — much  of  its  archi- 
tecture being  a  kind  of  cross  betvvetm  the  white 
settler's  hut  and  the  Indian's  birch  bark  lodge — 
perhaps  did  not  appear  so  characteristically 
American.  Let  us  look  at  its  jiicture  as  drawn  by 
Wa.shington  Irving  in  his  "Astoria. "  Itis  Mackinac 
as  seen  in  1810.  He  is  de.scribing  an  expedition 
under  way  for  the  far  northwest  and  the  head 
waters  of  the  Missouri,  in  tlie  interest  of  Mr. 
Aster's  enterprises.  The  party  had  fitted  out  in 
Montreal,  under  Wilson  P.  Hunt,  of  New  Jersey; 
and  in  one  of  the  large  canoes,  tliirty  or  forty  feet 
long,  universally  used  in  those  days  in  the  schemes 
of  commerce,  had  slowly  made  their  way  up  the 
Ottawa  river, and  by  the  old  route  of  the  fur  traders 
along  a  succession  of  small  lak'os  and  rivers,  to  our 
island.  Here  the  party  remained  about  three 
weeks,  having  stopped  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
on  more  goods  and  to  engage  more  recruits. 
Irving  tlius  describes  the  place: 

"It  was  not  until  the  22nd  of  July  that  they 
arrived  at  Mackinaw,  situated  on  the  island  of  the 
same  name,  at  the  confluence  of  Lakes  Huron  and 
Michigan.  This  famous  old  French  trading  post 
continued  to  be  a  rallying  point  for  a  multifarious 
and  motley  population.     The  inhabitants    were 


88 


EAKI.Y   MACKINAC. 


amphibious  in  thoir  luibils,  most  of  them  bein<?  or 
having  boon  voydgriirs  or  (•ano(vmon.  It  was  thf 
g:reat  i)lac!e  ot  arriviil  and  tloparture  of  the  soutli 
wost  fur  tra(l(!.  H(M-e  tlie  Mackinaw  Company  had 
ostablisliod  its  prinoijial  ]V)st,  from  \vh(^iice  it  com- 
mmiicatod  witli  Iho  intoiior  aisd  witli  Montroal. 
Honce  its  various  ti'adors  and  trapp<>rs  sot  out  for 
their  rospoctivo  dosti  nations  about  Lake  Superioi- 
and  its  tributary  wjitors,  or  for  the  Mississippi, 
the  Arkansas,  tiio  Missouii.  and  the  other  ro.s^ions 
of  the  wost.  Hero,  aft(>r  tlie  absence  of  a  year  oi- 
more,  thoy  retui'nod  with  thoir  i)eltries,  and  settled 
their  accounts;  the  fui's  rendered  in  by  them  beini;' 
transmitted,  in  canoes,  fi'om  iience  to  Montreal. 
Mackinaw  was,  therefore,  for  a  great  j^art  of  tlie 
year,  very  scantily  peopled;  but  at  certain  seasons, 
the  tradiM's  ari'ivod  from  all  ]KMn1s,  with  their 
crcnvs  of  voyage ar.^,  and  tlio  place  swarmed  like  a 
hive. 

"Mackinaw,  at  that  time,  was  a  mere  villago. 
stretching  along  a  small  bay,  with  a  fine  broad 
b(^acli  in  front  of  its  principal  row  of:  houses,  and 
dominated  by  the  old  fort,  which  crowned  an 
impending  height.  The  beach  was  a  kind  of  pul)- 
lic  promenade,  whore  wore  disphiyod  all  tlio 
vagaries  of  a  seaport  on  the  arrival  of  a  Hoot-  from 
a  long  cruise.  Here  roiidgevrs  fi'olickod  away 
their  w^ages,  fiddling  and  dancing  in  the  booths 
and  cabins,  buying  all  kinds  of  knick-knacks, 
dressing  thomsidvos  out  finely,  and  parading  up 
and  down,  like  arrant  braggarts  and  coxcombs, 
Sometimes  thoy  nu^t  with  rival  coxcombs  in  tlio 
young  Indians  from  the  opposite  shore,  who  would 


WASHINGTON  IRVING  S  SKETCH. 


39 


iiem  hoAwfJ!:  or 
,     It  was  tli«' 
of  the  south 
Company  luul 
rlunice  it  com- 
ith  Montreal, 
rs  set  out  foi" 
Liiike  Superior 
o,  Mississippi. 
other  re.iJ^ious 
e  of  a  year  of 
ies,  aud  settkul 
by  them  beiiiii' 
e  to  Montreal, 
sat  part  of  tlic 
;ertaiii  seasons. 
^1s,    ^vith    their 
warmed  like  a 

mere  villajxe. 
a  fine  broad 
)C  1  louses,  and 
1    crownod    an 
I  kind  of  pul)- 
layed    all    tin' 
)f  a  lleet  from 
'o licked  a^vay 
n   the   bootlis 
knick-knacks, 
parading  np 
id  coxcomi)s. 
combs  in  the 
•t\  wlio  would 


appear  on  tlie  l)each,  paintf^d  and  decorated  in 
fantastic  st y]<',  and  would  saunter  up  aiul  down,  to 
be  gazed  at  and  admired,  perfectly  satisfied  that 
they  ecli2)sed  their  pale-faced  competitor's. 

"Now  and  tluMi  a  chance  party  of  'North, 
westers'  appc^ared  at  Maclcinaw  from  the  r<'ndez- 
vous  at  Fort  William.  These  held  themselves  up 
as  the  chivahy  of  the  fur  trade.  They  WMn-e  men 
of  iron,  proof  against  cold  weather,  hard  fare,  and 
perils  of  all  kinds.  Some  would  wear  the  north- 
west button,  and  a  formidable  dirk,  and  assume 
something  of  a  military  air.  They  generally  wore 
feathcn'S  in  their  hats,  and  affected  the  'brave.' 
*Jo  suis  VII  homiiie  dii  tiord!" — 'I  am  a  man  of  the 
north. '  one  of  these  swelling  f(^llows  would  exclaim, 
sticking  his  arms  akimbo  and  laiffling  by  the  South- 
westers,  whom  he  regarded  wilh  great  contempt. 
as  men  softcmed  by  mild  climates  and  the  luxurious 
fare  of  brcnid  and  bacon,  and  whom  he  stigmatized 
"WitVi  the  vain-glorious  name  of  'pork  eaters.'  *  * 
The  little  cabarets  and  sutlers'  shops  along  the 
bay  resounded  with  the  scraping  of  fiddles,  with 
snatches  of  old  French  songs,  with  Indian  whooj)s 
and  v<41s." 

But  the  reader  must  not  tliink  th(ue  was  no 
Other  side  to  the  social  life  of  the  eai'ly  IVFackinac 
of  that  jwriod.  Irving's  i)icture  is  only  that  of  the 
wharves,  and  the  floating  population,  such  as  th<' 
manager  of  a  water  expedition,  stopping  over  but 
a  little  while,  would  be  the  m<'-t  likely  to  see. 
Although  the  Resident  population  vvas  very  small, 
there  were,  at  the  same  time,  the  families  of 
settled  homes,   and  with  the  social  interests  and 


40 


EARLY  MACKINAC. 


sympathies  and  plotisuros  common  to  -,moricaii 
village  lifo — subj(H:;t  of  coin-so  to  many  iiiconvon 
icucos  and  privations  incident  io  tlieli*  rcmotonos.s 
ilia  wild(»nicss  world.  I  find  a  ])l('asi!i.i^  dcscrip 
lion  -written  by  a  lady,  who  was  taken  to  tlKMsland 
when  a  child,  in  tho  year  1S12,  just  l)of(n"o  tlic 
war  oi)Gnedand  who  spent  tho  yoarsof  lu^r girlhood 
there* 

The  houses  of  the  village  at  that  time,  she 
says,  were  few.  quaint  and  old.  Every  house  liad 
its  garden  enclosed  with  cedar  pick(^ts.  These  wero 
kept  whitewashed,  as  also  the  dwellings  and  tlic 
fort.  There  were  but  two  sti'oets  in  the  village. 
One  ran  from  point  to  point  of  the  crescent  harbor, 
and  as  near  the  water's  edge  as  the  beach  would 
permit — tho  iiebbles  forming  a  border  between  the 
water  and  the  road.  (It  will  be  remembei-ed  thiit 
the  water's  edge  in  earlier  years  was  considerably 
more  inland  than  now.)  A  foot  2">ath  in  the  middlt^ 
was  all  that  was  needed,  as  th'  wei-e  no  vehicles 
of  any  di^scription,  except  d(,^  ^ains  or  sleds  in 
the  winter.  There  wei-e  no  schools,  no  physician. 
and  no  resident  minister  oC  religion.  Occasionally 
a  priest  would  come  on  visitation  to  the  Catholic 
flock.  In  winter  the  isolation  was  complete. 
Navigation  closed  usually  by  the  middle  of  Octobei'. 
and  about  eight  months  were  passed  in  seclusion 
from  the  outer  world.  The  mail  came  once  a  month 
"when  it  did  not  miss."  There  were  no  amuse- 
ments other  than  parties.     The  children,  however, 

♦Mrs.  n.  S.  Tliiird,  who  published  her  Rerainisconoes  iu  u  On'on  Iliiv 
Newspaper,  1882,  and  found  iu  the  '  Wisconsin  Historical  Collections.  ' 
Vol.  0. 


~^ 


to  -imorlcan 
uy  inconv<»n 
r  roiiioloncss 
Lsiii.i^  dcsci'ip- 
L  to  tlKM'sland 
t  bef<jro  till' 
f  lior  f^^ii'lliood 

Kit  timo,  she 

•y  honso  liad 

Those  woi'o 

in^s  and  tlic 

tlio  villai2:(>. 
scont  harboi'. 
beach  would 
•  between  tlip 
^nibe]-ed  that 
considerably 
in  the  middle^ 
3  no  veliicles 
5  or  sleds  in 
lo  physician. 
Occasionally 
the  Catholic 
IS  complete, 
e  of  Octobei-. 

in  seclusion 
once  a  month 
'6  no  amnse- 
en,  however, 

>s  in  a  Orcon  Dnv 
;ical  CoUectious.  ' 


"'*^ 

^ 


= 

i^. 

^ 

cl 

7 

r- 


ANOTHER  7:ARLY  DESCRIPTION. 


41 


■wi 


7. 


s 

E 


mado  liousos  in  tlie  snow  drifts,  and  (^oiisted  do^m 
liill.  Spring  always  came  late,  and  as  it  was  tlif* 
(  u>toni  to  ol)soi*vf3  May  diay  ihoy  ofton  jtlanN'd  the 
May  })ol(»on  thnicrv  Once  slio  n»o>]'ds,  for  Ihc'-'lh 
<  r  May,  "Ico  in  tlio  Basin  li-ood.""  Siio  relates t'.iat 
ill  the  autumn  of  lSf!3,  the  ice  formed  verv  erirly, 
hut  owiMiif  to  ]\'\ixh  "winds  and  a  sti"on<^  c  ■  it 

would  1)rcak  n[)  over  and  over,  and  betos>-tM.  loand 
fro,  unlil  il  was  piled  to  a  great  height  in  clear, 
towering  blue  masses;  and  all  tliat  met  the  eve 
acioss  to  the  opposite  island  ^vere  beautiful 
nioimtains  of  ic(\  The  soldiei-s  and  tishevmcn  cut 
a  load  tln-(niirh.  This  made  a  Avint(M''shiu:h  wav  for 
the  dog  sl<»ds,  tJM^.  ]»assage  \vinding  between  high 
walls  oL  ic(\  Avith  nothing  1o  be  s«'en  but  the  sky 
above.  Again,  in  oilier  seasons,  the  ice  Avould  be 
perfectly  smooth.  The  (wci  ling  times  on  the  Island, 
she  says,  were  when  Le  Caneau  (hi  Nordvxwn^.  As 
tlio  canoes  neai-ed  the  town  there  'wonld  come 
fionting  on  the  air  the  fai'-fanied  Camidian  boat 
-Song.  The  voi/fnitnrx  landing,  the  Indians  would 
Soon  follow  and  the  lit  tie  island  s<MMned  to  overllow 
^nih  lit; man  life.  These  exciting  times  would  last 
-for  six  or  eight  weelcs.  "Then  would  follow  the 
fini<M.  uneventful,  and  to  some,  di-(;ary  days,  yet  to 
niosl,  days  that  passed  happily.'' 


% 


CHAPTER  V 


Tho  year  l^ltl  bi-ought  our  socond  war  with 
tho  mollier  country.  In  it  our  little  ishind  playtnl 
apart,  and  indeed  it  may  bo  said  to  have  "opened 
tlio  ball."  Tlie  veiy  first  scene  of  tiie  war  was 
enact(>d  here.  The  two  governnuMits  had  been 
niKHM*  sti'ained  relations  for  some  time  befoi-e,  and 
on  the  ji'ili  of  June,  of  that  year,  the  state  of  war 
was  (l"c!are(l  ])y  President  Madison.  It  was  a 
nivsterv  at  tlie  1iin<>.  and  sonielliinc^  wiiicli  excited 
chunor  and,  in  tlie  frenzy  of  the  liour,  e\'en  insinu- 
ations of  treac-liery  airainst  hi^di  otticials  at  Wasii- 
iu'^ton,  tliiit  tlie  Enii"lisii  commanders  iu  Canada, 
knew  tlie  fact  so  much  in  advance  of  our  own. 
One  ex[danation  is  tliat  our  wvy  delibcrjiio  8eci*(^- 
lary  of  War  trusted  to  tlie  oi-dinary  postal  niediuni 
in  connnnnicalin.ii:  witli  tln^  frontier  troo[»s,  wliile 
the  ai»'ents  of  the  En.y'rish  <^overnnient  sent  the 
ncnvs  l)y  sjiecial  messenufcn's.  Genei-al  Hull,  com- 
mander of  the  depai'tment  of  MichiLfan,  said  li(»  diil 
not  i'e<civ((  information  of  the  fact  until  fourteen 
days  after  wai-  was  declared;  whih^  General  Jiroitk, 
the  British  cominan(h*r  o])posit<\  lunl  oilicial 
k'no\vled«.je  of  it  four  or  five  days  sooner.  And 
lik'ewise  Li(Hitenant  llank.s,  of  our  island  post,  was 
in  ]>lissfiil  ii^-norance  (d'  the  fact,  until  In?  saw  the 
Hritish  cannon  planted  in  his  rear,  just  foui'  week-> 
alter  war  liad  beeu  determinc.'d  upon. 

42 


TllK  VUIVV  srUPUISED 


4;^ 


war  with 
lul  play«'(l 
^  "opened 
)  w;ir  was 
Lad  l)t'<Mi 
'fore,  aiul 
ito  (jf  var 

ll  was  a 
eh  ox('ite«l 
r«'u  iiisiiiu- 

at  Wiisli- 

lii  CaiKida 

'  oiir  own. 

al  iiK'diuni 

Dps,     A\llili' 

\)  sent,   llic 

IIlllI,     COlll- 

saivl  ho.  dill 
il  l'(»iirt<M'ii 
M-Jil  l»r(H-k, 
ad  otticial 
)i)(M'.  And 
1  posi,  wa> 

lO    KHW  IIk' 

four  weeks 


* 
■'5 


Tho  P]n^-li.s]i  officer,  Captain  Robei-is,  com- 
mandin.i^  at  the  Island  of  St.  Joseph,  on  the  neni--hy 
Canada  horde !•.  had  received  orders  iniinediatel^"  to 
undertake  tlie  capture  of  the  strateiiic  point  of 
Mack'ina(;.  Ho  *^at]i(M-ed  a  force,  consislin.i^  of 
Canadian  militia  (the  En<]:lis]i  Piif  Co's  voiinnnirA 
and  other  eni[>k)yees),  and  a  lai'.n'e  nuiuhcr  of  In- 
dians. b('sid«'s  havin.iT  the  rei,ndar  snldiei'S  of 
tlio  ^'ari'ison.  Tlie  expedition  was  admirably 
niana.ired.  An  ojx'n  attack  in  front  would  have 
been  iinpossil)le  of  succ(»ss.  So.  secr(Mly  sailini:: 
fi-oni  St.  Jos<>])li,  they  landed,  nnperceivod,  on  tiic 
iior1h\V(»st  side  of  th(5  island,  at  ))  o'clock  in  the 
iiiorniiiLi',  on  the  spot  k'nown  ever  since  as  "Hritisli 
Landing'.  *'  The  troops  had  an  unobstructed  march 
across  the  island  and  were  soon  in  ])osition  witli 
tlicir  cannon  on  the  hin'iier  irround  coinm;'.ndin<:' 
\\u\  fo!'t  ill  tlie  I'ear,  the  Indian  allies  estjiblishing 
themselves  in  tli<»  woods  on  either  jl.iidc. 

The  Anieri(;an  commandant  and  his  little  hand- 
ful of  nifii  tJH'n  learned,  at  th(^  sam<j  monnMil,  the 
two  facts,  that  the  Unitrd  States  and  ( J  reat  Hritain 
w<  !•(»  at  war.  and  1liat  the  surrt'iidej'  of  l^'ort 
Maikiuac  was  d(Mnandt»d.  Resistance  was  im];')s- 
siblc,  and  thus  ai'.ain  the  lla-r  was  raised  over  its 
Avails  that  had  lirst  lloateii  ihero.  I^othier,  an 
Jiii-ent  of  ihe  No]*thwest  Fur  Com])any.  who  ac 
c(»mpanied  the  e\])edition  and  C()Minninded  a  ])a!l 
of  tiie  force,  thus  laconically  re])orted  it  to  Sir 
Ceo.  I'l'evort:  "The  Indian  traders  arrived  at  St. 
Jos»'])h  witli  a  numberof  their  men,  so  th;it  we  wcii' 
now  eiial)l«»d  to  form  a  force  of  about  t  vo  liun(lr<'d 
and    thirty    Canadians    and   threo    hundred    and 


\\ 


44 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


twenty  Indians,  exclusivo  of  the  *];arrison.  Willi 
that  force  wo  loft  St.  Joseph  on  tlie  l()lh,  at  eleven 
o'clock  A.  M.,  landed  at  Michilimackinac  at  thrci^ 
o'clock  ih(Mu^xt  morninfr,  sranmonod  the  garrison 
1o  sui'i'cnder  at  nine  o'cl(^(;k',  and  marched  in  at 
eleven" — just  Iwent y-four  hours  after  set1in<?  forth 
on  then*  hostile  ei*rand.  He  adds  fnrther,  that 
there  were  bet we(Mi  two  and  thrc^e  hundred  other 
Indian  warriors  who  had  expected  to  join  the  ex- 
pedition, but  failed:  that  two  days  after  the  capitu- 
lation, they  cani(\  But  he  intimates  that  this  baud 
was  in  an  undecided  state  of  mind  and  pai'tly  inclin- 
ed to  favor  the  AmiMMcans. 

Captain  Roberts,  in  his  i-eport  to  General 
Bro('k,  dated  the  day  of  the  capture  (July  ITtli). 
says:  'We  enibai-ked  with  two  of  the  six  poundeis 
and  every  num  I  could  muster,  and  at  ten  o'clock 
we  wei'o  under  weigh.  Ari'ived  at  three  o'clock 
A.  M.  One  of  those  unwieldy  guns  was  brought 
up  with  much  dilticulty  to  the  heights  above  the 
fort  and  in  readiness  to  open  about  ten  o'clock',  at 
which  time  a  summons  was  sent  in  and  a  capitula- 
tion soon  after  agreed  on.  T  took  immediaM^ 
possession  of  tlu^  ff)i't  and  displayed  the  Ih'itisli 
colors." 

As  pr(\senting  an  Amei-lcan  account  of  tlio 
surprise  and  capture,  the  otticial  report  of  Lieui. 
Hanks  is  herewith  given.  It  was  made  to  (Jen. 
Hull,  his  comma)idin,<::  otlic-er.  and  was  issued  from 
Detroit,  whithei-  the  ot"iicers  and  men  of  the  ca})- 
tured  garrison  had  been  sent  on  parole: 


LIEUT.  HANKS'  KEPORT. 


45 


ison.  Willi 
h,  at  elovcn 
lac  at  thi'<'o 
lie  jrarrison 
.relied  in.  at 
iotlinp:  forth 
Lii'llier,  thai 
11(1  nnl  oIluT 
join  the  ox- 
r  tlin  c'jipilii- 
lat  this  bjind 
)artly  incliii- 

to    Gonoral 

(July  17th). 
six  pounders 

ton  o'clock 
iree  o'clock 
rvas  broiiuiit 
,s  above  the 
L  o'clock,  at 

a  capitula- 
iuiniodiaic 

the    TJritish 

ouut  of  thf 
I't  of  Li(Mil. 
ado  to  Clou. 
issued  from 
of  the  cap- 


"Detuott,  Auixust  12th,  1>^V2. 

"Sii:: — I  talvo  th(^  earliest  opportunity  to  ac- 
quaint Yonr  Excellency  of  the  surriMidor  of  the 
irai'rison  of  Michiliinack'inac,  under  my  command, 
to  His  Britannic  Majesty's  forces.  und<n'  the  com- 
uiaihl  of  Captain  Charh^s  Roberts,  on  the  17th 
ultimo,  the  particulars  of  which  are  as  follows: 
On  the  ir)th,  I  was  informed  by  th(5  Indian int^n-pro- 
lefthat  he  had  discovered  from  an  Indian,  that  the 
several  nations  of  Indians  then  at  St.  Jos(»ph  (a 
British  garrison,  distant  about  forty  miles)  intend- 
ed to  mak(?  an  immediate  attack  on  Michiliniack- 
inac.     *  *  * 

'I  immediately  called  a  ra(»eting  of  the  Ameri- 
can i2:ont lemon  at  that  time  on  the  island,  in  which 
it  was  thoui^ht  proiun*  to  dispatch  a  contidential 
[)ei'son  to  St.  Joseph,  to  watch  the  motions  of  the 
Indians. 

"Captain  Micha«d  Doiisman,  of  the  militia,  was 
lhou,n"ht  the  most  suitable  for  this  service.  He 
embarked  about  sunset,  and  mot  the  British  forces 
within  ten  or  tifto(ni  miles  of  the  island,  by  whom 
he  was  made  prisoner  and  put  on  his  parole  of 
honor.  He  was  landed  on  the  island  at  daybreak, 
with  positive  directions  to  ii:iv(»  m(>  no  intolliiji'enco 
whatever.  Ho  was  also  instructed  to  take  the  in- 
habitants of  the  villa.L^e,  indisci'iminatoly.  toaplaco 
on  the  W(»st  side  of  the  island,  when;  tlKur  persons 
and  proi)erty  should  b*^  i)rotoct(Ml  by  a,  British 
j^Miard,  but  should  thc^y  ixn  to  the  fort,  Wioy  would 
b(»  subject  to  a  g(meral  massaci'o  by  the  savaires, 
whicli  would  bo  inevitable  if  the  L'^arrison  tired  a 


40 


EAKIA'    MACKINAC. 


gun.  Til  is  information  I  ivcumvccI  from  Dr.  Day.  • 
who  was  passin.jjf  throuii-li  tli(^  villa.irn  wh(»n  ovcrv 
person  Avas  tlyinj?  for  rcfug-o  to  Uk^  on(Miiy.  I 
iniinoiliately,  on  Ix'ing  inforuied  of  Ibo  approiicli  of 
llioonomy.  placed  ninniiinilion,  etc.,  in  lh(i  blmk 
lionsos;  orden'd  every  liMui  charirod,  and  nindf 
o\('!-y  pi'(^p;ira1ion  for  cWtion.  About  nine  o'clock 
I  could  discover  that  tin*  enemy  were  in  possession 
of  the  liei,ii:lits  tha.t  commiinded  th(^  fort,  Jifid  one 
piece  of  tlieirartilbny  directed  to  the  most  defense^- 
less  pai't  of  till*  j'-Jirrison.  Th(»  Indians  at  tliis  tiiiio 
■wen^  to  be  S(»en  in  ^'reat  numb(»rs  in  the  edsre  of 
the  woods. 

"Al  lialf  'past  eleveu  o'clock  tlie  enemy  sent  in 
a  ila*i:  of  ti'uce  demandinnf  a  surrender  of  the  fort 
and  islaud  to  ills  I>ritaniiic  Maieslv's  forces.! 
This.  Sir,  was  the  tirst  infoi'mation  I  had  of  Ili<' 
declaration  of  war.  I.  liowevei',  had  anticipatcnl  it. 
and  was  as  well  prepared  to  me(4  such  an  event 
as  I  possil)ly  could  luive  been  with  tiie  force  midcr 
my  connnand,  amountiiii^  to  tifty-seveii  etf(»c1i\e 
ni(m,  includin.ij:  olticers.  Thi'ee  American  g(ml leg- 
men, who  wej-e  prisoners,  W(»re  pin'mitted  to  ac 
company  the  lla,Lr.  Prom  them  I  ascertaintMl  the 
strenn'th  of  tin*  enemy  U)  Ix;  from  nim3  Imndred  tn 


*'riu'  Post,  siir(-'i'iiii. 

+  .\.s  to  tin*  (lilTt'reui't!  in  xlw  hour  wliirli  iippoiirs  in  Hk'so  tlun 
ofllciiil  stiiiciiifiils.  it,  is  i)ri)l»iil)le  Ciifli  writer  hud  in  iniiul  sifur 
(hlTiTfnt  sliD^'t'  ul'  th<^  t'vi-nt.  Tiif  qufsiion  of  tin-  suin'iult-r  of  i:!' 
isluiitl  liiul  its  prcliiiiiaiiry  siuu'i"  ill  ;in  riirliiT  hour  in  the  iMoniiii;,'  ill.  i  li'' 
old  dlsiiilcry  ill  llio  wi-sicin  riid  of  Ihc  vilhi^rc,  hci  ween  so  if  df 
Hrili>h  ollii-crs  imd  I't-iUiin  of  liic  cKi/ciis.  while  Uie  forniiil  deniiiiid  ■■' 
the  post  w.is  nni  luiidt!  until  juit  r  in  tiio  d.iy.  .\nd.  ii^'iiin.  Cu|)i.i:: 
Roheris  niii  •  liiiv  e  noted  llu>  Utnc  of  \viiti;i,'  his  (l,-ii;inil  lit  Uia  U'^l 
headquarlcra  tvud  Lieut.  Hauks  the  time  It  rciiohcil  ,'  ..i  xiiinds. 


LIEUT.   HANKS     REPORT. 


)m  Dr.  Dha',  ■ 
wh(»n  ovcfv 

0.  OlKMIiy.        i 

>  tipproiw'li  of 
ill  Ihc!  bl(Hl{ 

1,  and    iiiihlc 
iiiiK^  o'clocl: 

ill  possess  lor, 
ort,  iitid  ()ii(> 
nost  (It'fonsc 
s  at  til  is  timo 
the    edge  of 

noniy  sent   in 

r  of  tlie  foil 

ly's    forces,  i 

[  had  of  llic 

nticipated  it, 

K'h  ail  (nciii 

force  iiiultT 

eii  etf(H' live 

icaii  f2:<nitlo- 

litlod  to  ;i(' 

M'taiiiod  lilt' 

liuiidriMl  In 


iti    tlH'se    tliicf 
ill    nii:i(l    siiiiii' 

^llll^'[l(ll■|•    of    I    " 

inoi'iiiu;^   ill.   Ill'' 

•I'll   so  •  1(1  of   I 

I'liKil  lU'iiiaiid   <>'. 

ii/;iiii,    ('upl.ii!! 

;iii(l   ill  hU  v^\L 


one  thousand  strong,  consisting  of  rc^guiar  troops, 
Canadians  and  savages;  that  they  had  two  pieci^s 
of  artillery,  and  "svere  j^rovided  with  ladcU^'s  and 
topivs  for  the  purpose  of  scaling  the  work's,  if 
necessary.*  After  I  had  obtained  this  information 
I  consulted  my  oliticers,  and  also  the  American 
g(MitIemen  pres(»nt,  who  were  very  intelligent  men; 
the  i-esult  of  which  was.  that  it  was  impossible  for 
llie  garrison  to  hold  out  against  such  a  superior 
force.  In  this  opinion  I  fully  concurred,  from  the 
conviction  that  it  was  the  only  measun*  that  could 
|)n>v(nit  a  general  massacre.  The  fort  and  garri- 
son were  accordingly  surrendered. 

*  *  *  * 

"In  consequence  of  this  unfortunate  attair.  I 
beg  leave.  Sir,  to  demand  that  a  Court  of  Inquiry 
may  be  ordered  to  investigate  all  the  facts  con- 
iHH'ted  with  it;  and  I  do  further  rt^piest,  that  tlie 
Court  may  be  spiH'ially  directed  to  express  tluur 
opinion  on  the  merits  of  the  case. 

"Porter  Hanks. 
''T icutcnant  of  Artillcn/.  " 
•*His  Excelhuicy  Gen.  Hull 

"'Comnuniding  the  N.   W.  Army." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  the  question 
whether  the  surrender  at  Fort  Mackinac,  without 
a  show  of  resistance,  was  justitiable.  Tlie  garrison 
was  but  a  handful  of  men.     By  no  fault  of  his,  the 


*.\  (lis«M(Miaii',v  in  llio  t'stiniiitr  of  troops  tisiiiiult"  liy  oiMJosiiitr  sidts. 
es|H't'i;ii;,\  ill  reports  from  tlu'  hat  I  le  ticid,  is  very  ooiiiniou.  A  rei'eiii 
Uistory  of  ('aii.ulii,  liowt-vi-r,  (piililislu'd  in  IM'tT).  is  im'xcusably  out  of 
lilt;  Wily,  whfti  it  niak«'s  (^aptiiin  Uohcrts  ultacl<iiig  foroe  less  ihauiwu 
luuidiH'd."  us  far  us  tY)(/(u/rHr.s  uud  rok'ulars  were  cont'i-rned.  uud  mukes 
uu  Uit'uiiou  whiiiever  of  the  large  uumbcr  uf  iudiau  allies. 


48 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


Lieutonjint  in  comiiuiiul  liad  bo(Mi  tiiU'iMi  onliivly 
unawares.  The  enemy  werr  in  overwhelininii' 
nnnilxM's  and  ()('eu[)^'iiii^  a  position  with  tl^'ii' 
cannon  wliicii  coniniandcil  tlic  Tori.  Tlicii-  Indiin 
allies  w«'rc  waitiii«JC  hi  sava.iiHi  eapM-iu^ss  lor  \\\v 
attaclv.  and  had  tiie  tiiililiiiii"  onco  l)(>,iiMiii  it.  would 
have  been  beyond  t lie  power  of  the  ollicers  to  iv 
sti-ain  tlieni.* 

Tlie  eaptni'e  of  Mackinac,  tlu>  tirst  stro1c(>  of 
the  war,  was  of  tlie  iii^'liest  importanee  to  liir 
Britisii  interests.  Vahiablc  stores  of  liKM-rliaiidis.'. 
as  well  as  eonsid(n*ablL'  sli!})p"iig"  which  stood  in  the 
iiarbor.  were  secured.  It  .nave  tiieni  the  k'cy  totln> 
fui"  trade  of  a  vast  rci^non,  and  the  entire*  connnaud 
of  the  ni)per  lakes.  It  exposed  Dcti'oit  and  all 
lower  Michi.n'an.  It  ii'i'eatly  tcrritied  CJ(4ieral  Hull. 
who  commanded  the  department  of  ]Mi{dii.L!,*an.  It 
arrested  h's  operations  in  Canada.  He  said:  "The 
whole  northern  hordes  of  Indians  will  be  let  down 
npon  us."  His  surrender,  just  on(>  month  later, 
was  in  i)art  due  to  tlie  panic  it  caused — one  histor- 
ian of  that  day,  saying:  "Hull  was  conc^uered  al 
Mackinac."' 

On  the  island,  the  Briti.sh  proceeded  at  once  to 
strenj^Mhen  their  pt)sition.  In  order  to  guard  a<j^ainst 
any  apj)roach  in  the  real',  like  the  succt^ssful  one 
they  themselves  had  nuule.tlu^y  built  a  vei-y  stron;'; 
earth -work  on  the  hiuh  hill,  a  half  mile,  oi*  little 
more,  back  of  the  post,  which  they  called  Fort 
Geor<i:e.  in  honor  of  the  Kin<^  o!  En«!:land.  This 
fortification  still  remains,  now  known  to  all  visitors 

*Johu  AsUin.  of  the  Mtitish  storeUt  t'piriw  clfpiirtHu-nt ,  iiurt  preseui 
with  the  besit*t,'iuk' foroe,  siiid.. that  hiid  lh«.>  suldicrs  «»f  the  fort  lir«d  u 
gun.  \ni  llrnily  believed  uot  a  s<v.;l  rf  i!u'in  would  havt;  bocn  saved. 


tll*| 
hr 

sill 


CONSTRUCTING   FORT   HOLMES. 


49 


as  Fort  Holiues.  In  itscoiisl  ruction  tlic  citizens  of 
1li(>  vilhii^^c  were  impressed,  every  iibU;  bodied  nuin 
Ix'liii:-  r(»(iuii'ed  to  ij^ive  tlirce  (tiiys  in  the  pick  imd 


,sli()\«'l  work. 

A  coiiitiioii  (>rroi-  prevails  thiit  this  cUicient 
t'aitli-work  was  actually  constructed  the  very  niii'ht 
I  he  Itrilisli  arrived,  and  tluit  it  nuule  i)art  of 
the  forniidable  investment  of  Fort  Mackinac  which 
led  lo  ils  speedy  surrt^ndcu".  A  monuMit's  I'cdlection 
will  sliow  this  could  not  have  been  the  case.  The 
in\adin,ii"  force  only  landed  at  three  o'clock  that 
iii<)iiiin<i:  and  then,  wilhall  their  1i'a[)pin,i;'s,  liad  to 
iiiaivh  two  miles  to  ^vt  into  position,  and  yet  were 
ready  by  ten  o'cdock  to  open  tire.  It  is  probable 
this  hill  was  the  "hiMiihts  abov(^  the  fort.'*  to 
which,  as  (^a[)tain  Roberts  says  in  his  rei)ort,  "one 
of  those  miwieldy  .n'uus  was  bi-ouuiit  up  with  much 
difticidtv;"  and  that  far  the  Fort  Hohnes'  site 
fin" :  red  in  the  demonsti'ation  a<^'ainst  Lieut.  Hanks' 
coiiiinand.  The  fortitication  itself,  however,  bcung 
tlu>  scientitic  work  of  militaiy  en,i4"in(^ers,  and  in- 
volvinir  a  protracted  pei'iod  of  luu'd  labor,  was  con- 
structed afterwards  at  the  British  comnumdant's 
lt>isure.  Th(^  other  on(^  of  Captain  KolxM'ts  "two 
six-pouiukM's, ''  toi>'(dher  with  tlu^  <j:reat  bulk  of  his 
men.  incdudiuic  his  Indians,  we  may  suppoS(\  oc- 
cupi(>d  the  rid«4"e  of  ii'round,  part  open  and  part 
wooded,  betwecMi  tlu*  hill  and  th(i  post,  just  beyond 
lh(»  old  ])arade  i^round,  whicli  lies  outside  the 
piesiMd  fort   fence. 

Cai)tain  l\,oi)erts  was  r(dieved,Se[)temljer  1H13, 
and  Ca[)tain  Bulloidc  a[>pointed  in  liis  place.  Col. 
McD(jnall  assumed  charii'e  in  the  sprin.i^  of  1814, 
This  utticer's  name  often  a|)pears  as  McDouall. 


I 


CIIAPTEK  Vr. 

P>y  Coiuniodoro  T^orry's  vlctorv  on  Luke  Ktic 
mul    (J(Mi('ral   llaiTisoirs    vicloi'ious   baltic   of  lli" 
'I'liaiiH'S.  1  lic>  aiit  iiiiiii  (tf  l^^i;!  IouihI   the   Al!n•t•■;(■;ltl^ 
ill    ]);)ss(>ssi<)!i  of    I^ala'  Huron,    and  iifariy  ail  of 
Micliiiiun.     The  r»*  capluro  of  Mackinac  was  (l<irr- 
niiiicd  on.      In  llic  cai'iy  s[)i-in,n' of  1^14,   an  cxpctli- 
ti»n  i'of  this  piirpOM'  was  planned,  \vliicli.  Iiowcn 'T. 
(lid   not    u'cl    nndci'  sail  until  .Inly  ^Ird.   (Mnl)ai-lviii,Li' 
fi'oni  J)(Mf()il   tliat  day.      It   was  a  joint   iiaxal  antl 
militaiT  i'oi'co.     TiitM'e  were  s<'\'cn  war  vessels  un- 
der C'oniniodorc  Sinclair,   and  :i  land   i'oi'ce  of  T-'ni 
men.  undei*  command  of  Col.  C'i-oi:"han.     Theobjec!. 
besides    the    I'elalxini!:    of    Mac]<inac.    was   also   lu 
destroy  the  Kn.iiTish  post  at  St.  Jo.-epli,   and   to  in 
llict   whatevei'   danuii:(^    it   could   on    the   niil'taiy 
stoi'(»s  and  shi])|)in,i:'  of  '.ne  eiieniy  on  the  iiei«^hber- 
in*_r  boi'der  of  Caiiudai.     Tiiese  war  l)i'ii;"s  and  otli'i' 
vessels  of  the  squaih'on  wej-e  the  hii'u'est  e\'erseen, 
u[)  to   that  tim(\    on  the  waters  of  St.    Clair   and 
Huron.      The   commanders,   instead   of  sailinii*  a! 
once  to  Maclclntic.  concluded  to  tirst  dispiitcli  tlu'ir 
other   eri"inds.     Tliey   found   St.    Josei)h   ali-eady 
abandoned  by  the  British,  but  they  captured  soiu" 
Enii'li>h  scliooners  and  sup})lies.     They  then  tni-nc'l 
back  for  Mackinac  Island,   wliei'o  they  arrived  on 
the  i\")th  of  July.     But  no  success  awaited  them 
there. 

The  Eniiiish  fully  ai)i)reciated  the  great  value, 

5ii 


St 

\\| 
111 
l)t| 
(■( 


.:5 


KHINFOUCINC    TUK    I'UST. 


51 


M\kv  Erio. 

tic      of     li|M 

Alll<'C;<;iti.s 

iriy  ail  of 

WHS  (Icli'r. 

Ill   cxiu'di- 

ll()\V('\  t'l'. 

iiiharK-iiin- 
iia\al  and 
•  'sscis  IIU- 

('<'  of  r.'ii 

llO  ol.'Jcci. 

">   al.so   lu 
11(1   to  in 
iiiil'tar.y 
H^if,'-}ib()i'- 
nd  ollirr 

N'i'rseeii. 
'lair  and 
liliii.i;-  at 
U'li  their 

uli'ciidy 
0(1  sonj<> 
ntni'iK^d 
'ivcd  on 
3d  I  hem 

t  value, 


stratc.irically  and  c*oiiim(>irlally,  of  Mackinac  and 
\\(Mv  doti'i-iiiinod  to  bold  it.  Tiicy  took  stron<; 
iiK'ii.sui'cs  I'oi"  its  defense.  Col.  MeDonall,  who  had 
Ih'imi  st'iit  thert!  in  May  of  that  yviiv  as  the  new 
M  coiiiiiiandant.  was  a  very  onej-«;elic  and  skillful 
M)ldiri'.  lie  brou.uriit  with  hini  fi'esh  trooi)s  from 
Caiiiitla.  aiinnunition  and  provisions,  and  other 
thiims  necMlful.  J{«'si(l('s  this  fact,  thi^  garrison 
\\t'n>  l)y  no  iiicaiis  iniioi'ant  of  the  expedition  in 
iluMf  iioi  thern  waters,  and  of  its  object;  and  there 
was  lit)  possibility  of  a  surprise  attack.  Oiu*  of  tlie 
oltici'i's  belon.ii'in*,^  to  the  reinforcement  which  had 
Ix'cn  sent  to  tlic  post  thus  wrote:  "AftiH*  our  ar- 
rival at  the  island  all  liands  were  employed 
strenuthenitii;-  the  defenci^s  of  the  fort.  For  up- 
wards ol"  two  months  lialf  tb(^  i^'arrison  watched  at 
niiilii  aL':ainst  attack.*'  The  Indians  from  the  sur- 
rounding,''coniitry,  and  Canadians  In^re  and  there, 
wei-e  called  in  for  aid.  Besides  the  additional  fort 
which  they  had  built.  Port  Geoi'i!;-(\  (now  Fort 
llolnifs,  and  already  referred  to)  batt(M-ies  were 
placed  at  various  points  outsi(h3  the  walls  which 
coinnianded  the  a})proaches  to  the  Ixnich.  One 
was  on  the  hei<z:ht  overloolvin<^'  the  <4"round  in  front 
of  the  i)resent  Grand  Hotel,  another  on  the  hi<;'h 
Knoll  just  W(»st  of  tlie  fort,  while  others  lined  the 
<ast  bluff  betwc^en  the  i)resent  fort  grounds  and 
iiobinson's  Folly. 

Our  American  ofticers  at  tii'st  tliouiiht  of  erect- 
iiiiia  battery  on  Round  Jsland  and  sludliiit]:  tlie  fort 
t'l'oin  tlu>re.  A  yawl  was  sent  with  a  S(|ua(l  of  men 
lo  reconnoiti-e,  and  a  spot  fixed  upon.  This  was 
seen  by  the  Englishconimander  and  he  immediately 


P 


li 


:.L» 


EARf-V    MACKINAC. 


stMit  o\«'»'  :i  lar^c  (It'tacliiin'iil  oi  Indians,  wlio 
I(»i'c«mI  lli(»  litlh'  ])arly  In  M«"-.  One  of  iho  iiicii. 
Iiowt'vci".  waited  loo  l<)»i<::,  tciiiptt'd  h.v  iIm'  hcrrics 
wliioh  p:r<'\v  a1  his  tVot,  and  missed  llic  hoal  uiid 
was  capl  iired.  M'lic  Indians  i'ow«m1  in  with  their 
])i-isoii('i'.  chantinii'  the  death  dii'«i:e  and  expeetiiiLT 
to  dispose  of  hini  on  the  shoce  in  tiieir  nsiKil 
i)ai'bai'i<',  inannei*;  and  in  tlieii*  wild  frenzy  ot"  delii-fht. 
some  of  llie  scpiaws.  Ix'l'oi'e  tlie  canoe  had  touclied 
liie  beach.  i'usIhmI  into  the  AV-it(M',  waist  deep,  with 
wliettod  icnlves  j-aised  aloft,  to  heuin  at  once  tiic 
woi-l\  of  savaii'e  tort  iii'ini:-.  IViit  tlie  ottici-r  of  Ilic 
for'l.  di\inini!:  their  object,  liad  sent  ;i  s([uad  )t 
sohliers  to  pi'otect  the  iiapii^ss  ]H'isoner. 

'^riie  extended  level  ii'roimd  just  west  of  tin' 
viihi«4"e  strtM'ts,  was  also  considered  as  a.  p()iiii 
wh(M'e  a  hmdin.n*  could  be  made*,  and  th<'  talvinir  "I 
(he  foiM  be  att(Mni)ted.  nnder  cover  of  the  guns  ef 
the  vessels.  Hut  Captain  Sinclaii".  who  descrih d 
the  fort  hill  as  a  ''pei'fect  (Gibraltar."  found  tlr  ' 
his  vessels  would  only  be  exposed  to  a  rakinn*  tire 
from  the  heights  above  without  his  bcMn*^'  able  to 
elevate  tin*  i^uns  sutticiently  for  return  shots. 

After  hoverhi.£>r  about  the  island  lor  a  w<^ek  it 
was  concluded  tliei-e  was  no  othtn*  way  than  to 
imitate  the  ])lan  of  the  successful  enemy,  two  years 
before*.  So  they  .sailed  around  to  "British  Land- 
ing" and  disembarked.  Auii'ust  4th.  and  marched  ;is 
far  as  the  Dousmau  farm  (now  Early's  farm).  But 
the  conditions  were  entirely  different  from  those  ef 
two  years  ago,  and  the  nioveuKMit  was  ill-starred. 
and  a  melancholy  failure.  According,  howev(M\  to 
the  reports  made  by  tiie  joint  connnanders  of  tli^ 


FAILIUL:   Ol'^   TUK   ATTACK 


5:5 


IIS.      wild 

Im'    IIK'll. 

('    l)(M*fi('S 

l)n:il  uikI 
itii  llicir 
x|)f<Miii:: 

ir  llSllnl 

'dcli.li'lit. 

tOlU'lMMi 

'<'|),     "Willi 

OIICC     tile 

Cf    of     tllf 

S(HUl(.l        )[ 

'st  ot"  the 
>     ill     ])oi!l! 

talviiiir  of 
n  guns  (if 
doscril' '(l 
)iin(l  tlv' 
iilvinij:  tii't' 
IL,^  al)l(3  to 
lots. 

a  w<'olv  it 
'  than  to 
two  yonrs 
isli  Laiiil- 
lurched  ;i.s 
I'm).  But 
n  those  of 
ll-starred, 
►\vev(^i-,  to 
n*s  of  the 


t 
■i 


ox-pi'diiioii.  it  was  not  so  iiuicli  their  ])hin  to  at- 
iriiipt  the;  storniiiiij:  of  th(^  worlss.  as  to  feel  llie 
cin'iiiy's  str<'n.tr1h  and  toestahllsh  a  lod.mncnt  from 
wiiit'h  by  slow  and  tri-achial  appi-oaches.  and  hy 
sieitc  tliey  uii.u'lit  ]n)\)o  i'ov  success.  All  such  cx- 
ppclations  w«>re  soor;  dissipated.  Facin.ij:  the  open 
Held  on  the  Dousniau  farin  were  the  thick'  woods. 
This  was  a  iierf(^ct  cover  1o  the  Indian sivirinisiici's, 
wlio.  conceal(Ml  in  their  vantaire  ])oints,  hotly  at- 
laclced  our  soldiers;  to  say  iiothiiiii;  of  an  Eii«^lish 
Icittcry  of  foiii'  ])ioces,  tirinijf  shot  and  sliells. 
TIit'r(>  coidd  be  neither  advance  nor  encami)iii,ir. 
Tlie  oidy  wis(Mhin,y  was  to  rotn^at  to  the  vess(ds 
This  was  done  and  tlu^  expedition  h^ft  the  island, 
haviiiiiC  lost  1ifte(Mi  k'illed  and  about  lifty  wounded. 
Major  Andrew  Hunter  HoIuk^s,  next  in  command 
to  Colonel  Croiihan,  was  onci  of  the  slain  in  this 
most  unfortunate  and  fruitless  action.  lie  fell 
while*  h»adin*i:  hisi)attalion  ii:  a  ihink  movement  on 
the  i-i<r]it.  One  stoiw  is  that  the  <iun  wliic]i})i(M'ced 
his  breast  witli  two  balls  was  finnl  by  a  little  Indian 
boy.  Another  tradition  is  that  the  Major  had 
been  warncMl  that  moi'nin.ij:.  by  a  civilian  aboard  the 
vess(d.  not  to  wear  his  unifoi'm  which  would  mak-e 
him  a  target,  but  that  lie  decdined  the  frimidly  ad- 
vice saying,  that  if  it  was  his  day  to  tall  he  was 
ready.* 

Majoi' Holmes  was  a  Vii'ii'inian,  an  intelligent 
and  ])i'oniising  young  ofticor  who  enjoyed  the 
Iriendshi))  of  Tliomas  Jefferson.  H(»  had  already 
distinguished  liims(df  in  a  battle*  neai*  Detroit,  and 
had  performed  well  a  spec'al  service  assigned  him 

'■OuxrlfH  3.  Juiit'\si)n\n- Sketch  of  thr  Second  Wnr."  Vol.  2. 


IF 


54 


EART.V    MACK" rr AC. 


in  this  sanio  cxpoditioa.  when  at  the  Sjuih  St. 
Mario.  In  the  olYicial  re{)<>rts  of  tlie  Marlcjtiac 
i)atl  le  lie  was  )'(>ren'(Ml  to  as  tliat  *'«rallant  ojtii  it. 
Maji  »!•  Hohnes.  uh()s«>  char'actei"  is  so  w^'ll  k'nowti 
to  the  war  depai-t  inent ;"  atnl  a«rai;n  as  "the  vaJuaiilc 
and  ever-io-ht'  lamented  otticei*. "  His  iw»dy  ikuI 
been  eaiM'ied  otT  the  tic  Id  and  .secrPtod  by  a  t'aitlit'ul 
neirrt*  sei'vant.  and  tiie  next  ilay  was  respecU'u'ly 
delivered  to  the  Aniei'icans  by  Colonel  McDoiiill 
and  taken  to  Deti'oit  tor  burial.  A  very  tittiiiir 
tribute  to  jiis  memory  was  it.  that  when  in  tin' 
followinir  year  the  ishuid  a^ain  came  i:nder  our 
fla<;.  the  name  of  the  new  fort  on  the  suunini 
lieiirhls.  whicli  had  lu'en  i)uilt  by  the  Kn.irlish.  wa> 
cluinired  troni  Fort  (ieorire  to  Fort  Hohnes. 

T"ie  tort  bri'iir  rouuil   im])i-< 'ij-nable  l)y  assault, 
no  furtliei- attempts  at  capture  wer-c  made,  and  tli. 
<»X])edition  returned  down  the  lak«'  to   Detroit.    Hk- 
most  ot    the  soldi»Ms   b«'iiiir   sent    to  join    (Jeneral 
Brown's  foi-ces  on  t  li(' Niairai'a. 

Hut  the  ami)  lien  to  I'ejj-ain  tlu^  island  was  not 
yet  ail)andone<i       It  wasthoiiirht   to  sta»'\e  out   the 
srarri.MMi    and    thus    foice    a    surrender.       IOn,i:'li>li 
sn])pli!**s  could  now  come  on iv  from  Canada  t  hr;)ULj 
the  ( ieoi'Li'ia.n   liay.      Near  the    mouth  of   the    Ni> 
tax    isiiira  river  at  t  he  ^<>ut  hcnst  corner  of  I  hat  bav. 
ne:      a    protectinir  blocic   hons«\    was  the  .s«'hooner 
"N.iiK  v'"  loaded  with  six  months'  supplies  of  7)r<»- 
vision-    intended    tor  the    Maclcinac    h)iM.       A  d«' 
taciiUM'tit    of    the    Am«'rican    t loops  landiniT  tbi'r 
blew     up     the     hloclc    iiouse    and     destroyed     tli« 
S('hooii&>r  and   her  supplies.     Tliei-c   i-euiained   now 
notliiiu^  more  to  d(»  than  to   so  guard  the  watei-s 


ih 


S<::ar('ITV  nv  TMi(»VTST()Ns. 


.)j 


ihai  tlu!  (It'stiuition  of  1  he  islniid  could  noi  i)o  ro- 
piiii-t'd.  Two  of  ilic  vessels,  till'  "Tiirn -ss""  and  the 
••Scoi-jiion.'"  \v<'rt'  Icfl  lo  iiiaiiil;iiii  :i  sti'ici  l)l(M-ka«lo. 
Till",  was  ]H'oviiii,'- very  cITcrt i\('.  and  iM-ovi>ioiis  ran 
•,<«  low  ill  Mackinac,  lliat  a  loaJ' o!'  l»i<'ad  would  soil 
Inr  a  dollar  on  Hie  sti-ccls.  and  llic  nH:?n  of  the 
LMi'i'ison  wero  killin*^  liorsts  i'or  meat. 

The  foliowinii' cxti'aci  I'l-oin  a  Idler  writton  hy 
one  of  the  En.ijlisii  ot'licei-s  depicis  ilio  situation 
uitliin  tlio  L»)\'i  at  this  time:  'Aftei-  ilio  fuilui-(»  of 
tlie  attack',  the  Aniericansestahlisiieda  l»lo<kadc  l>y 
which  tlii^v  intei*cept(Ml  our  sii|)])rK's.  Wc  Imd  hut 
;i  '-iMiall  stoi-e  of  provi-^ions.  The  C(niiniandei-  irrew 
Vfcy  anxious.  The  L:-arri>oii  was  ]>in  on  short  al- 
iowanccs.  Some  hoi-ses  llial  ha|>|ien«'d  to  he  on 
llii'  inland  were  k'illcd  and  sailed  down,  and  we  oc- 
casionally wei-e  Nucccssful  in  pri  icui'inL:"  ti>h  from 
the  lak'e.  To  (M'onomi/e  our  mean-.  iIm-  L'"rea1»'r 
part  of  the  Indians  Wfie  inducid  to  di'|iart  to  iheir 
liomes.  At,  leuii'th  we  saw  ourscKes  on  the  vcrire 
of  starvation  with  no  hoiit'  of  relief  fi-oni  anv 
i|uarler. " 

Unrin.G"   all    the  suminei'   we  find  Colonel   Afc- 
Doiiall  in  hi^^  let  ters  to  t  he  drpart  ment  hcL'irinir  and 

elit  reat  illLl"   for  SU|i|tlie.s. 

Tliert}  were  yet  otiii'r  emharrassnM'n's.  Al- 
thousfh  thoiii.'-hout  the  whole  pt'i'ind  the  In«iians  of 
'he  MacL'inac  re^'ion  were  allies  of  the  l»riti».ji.  the 
illiance  was  not  without  it  >  diftieult  ies.  Many  of 
!hem  showed  an  indecision  when  success  was 
'ioni>tful.  as  one  of  the  iMiii'ish  airents  wi-ote.  and 
a  predilection  in  faxor  of  llie  Ann'ricans  seemed 
to  intlnence  tliem."     Ahout  the  island    'Mlu'V    l>c- 


5C> 


KAU1.V    MAlKlNAC^ 


c;vMH>  vc^ry  (Inuioroiis,  "  aiiollior  oHicof  said.  AikI 
C«>1.  M<'I)«Mial  spolv.'  of  tlit'iii  as  "an  im<'fi-l:ii!i 
(luantiiy" — th;ii  iIh'V  "wci-r  tit-l';!*'  as  lli(»  wiiui  aim 
it  wjis  a.  ilirtic  i  ■  lasic  lo  lo'oj)  ihciii  with  lis."  ||r 
wi»rs  (-'naf)an':i-~'»l.  ii»<>,  l)y  tli«'ii'  Hocking'  to  ilic 
isJiiiid  «iji(l  r(?(|uirini:"  to  !)«'  r<'<l. 

liii:   ••olicl'.  a,nd  tliat  l>y  lln'ii*o\vn  saii'acily  ami 
dariiii:".  ^ais  at  hand  IniMlK'  bol(»a,iiMM'i'«'d   nari'i.^Mn 
Wh«'!i   ;in'   "Nancy"    and    ihf   t>|(>(*k   lionsc;  on   llic 
Noiiaw  a  wt'T"  (lest  i'ovcmI.  tin' ot'Hccrs  in  chai'Lre 

of     that    -•  |)|)iy    of    >t<.rt's.     fjicut.    Wofslcy,    wilh 
s»"«'ni«  lilors  (if  t  ho  Ivoyai  Na\'y.  h«.d  nianaiiTd 

to  •■'•a  id  «'ff»M't   a  ))assa.i:'<'  in  tin  open   l)oal   lo 

th»*  fort  ;.«  Mackinac  ai.d  had    reported    tiic   loss  nf 
tli**^  sto?'os.      l'\>i'ccd    l>y    1  ho    necessity    of   the   silii- 
atioii.  aln.d  and  de,siie:-ate  pi'ojcct  was  undertaki'n 
—  that.    \\a>.    liie  capture    of    the    two     hJoclcadiiiL'' 
v«''r4H«^ls.      lialti-aiiv  were  titl<'<i  ont  and  e((uippcd  a' 
Mackinac,  niainu'd  unih-r  Lieut .    Worsiey    witli    hi-> 
seann'n   ai  <i    Ny    \"ohnitcei's  fi'oni   the  <jrarris()n   ami 
Indians,  niai^iim'  in  all  ai>out    s<'\-enly  men.      The>r 
SPtl"«MMhon    liie   l)old    eirainl       'I'he   Scorj)i()n    and 
Tijjcrcss  Were  then  t-iMiisiiiL:'  in  the  neiirhlxirhood  e' 
Detom*.     ( )n  a  dai-K'  niijht.    rowinu:  ra[)i*lly  and   in 
silence,  the\    appr(»aclied    tir^t    the  'l^iiri'ess,    which 
lay  at  aindiiM' off  St.  .(oseph.  and  taUinLi"  it  eiitirelv 
hy      urpri.se.     Iea|>ed    ahoaid    and    afler    a.    hand  1e 
hane    >t  rnirulc  >oon  had  possession       lis  ci-ew  were 
sent     :..4'Xt    (hiy.    as    prisoners    lo    Mackinac.      The 
Tiirn*>^"^  si«j*nals  wei-e  in  the  hantis  of  lh«»  captors, 
an't     M''  American  pennant    was   kept    llyiniT  at   tlic 
m.;-     iie;id.      (  >n  1  he  .second  d;iv  afler,   I  he  Scor'pioii 
was  ■M^'fr^u  beat in^r   \»p  towartis   Iht  companion  ship 


ll 


r. 


c 
( 


J0 


IJlUTISn    APPKI'X'IATIOX   i)V   MACKINAC. 


I)/ 


■^i^i'l.     And 

"■  wiiiil  and 
1  us."'  II,, 
h.l;-    to  III,. 

racity  and 
.li'arrisMn, 

ise    (.11    Ihr 

1  ill  cliarii't' 

il«\\',  will) 
I  inanai;f(| 
'II  lM)al  !() 
n'  loss  (d' 
lix'  siin- 
iidci'laki'ii 
oclx'adiii-- 

lil»jM'(|    ;it 

wilh    liiv 
isoii    and 

Tlh'sr 

Moil    an, I 

'In  K  )(|     (  i; 

\'  and  in 
,  wliicli 
<'til  ii-«>l\ 
liaiid  lo 

<'\V  \V«'|T 

r.  'V\u' 
•a|)lors, 
C  at  111,' 
<"or|)i()ji 
oil  slii]) 


unauai'o  of  its  chan.irc*  of  forliiiie.  Ni.i:]i1  coming 
on -lie  aiicliorod  soiiio  two  inilrs  ofT.  Ahoiit  day- 
linlil  llio  Ti«,n'oss  s(»t  all  sail.  sw(»))t  down  on  licr, 
()))i'IhmI  tiro  and  l)oai'dt>d  and  ('ai)tui-cd  her.  Sad 
tall',  indeed,  fo!'  Iliese  two  war  vessels,  wliicli  only 
a  year  hefore  had  lionorahly  lli^nrod  in  Coinniodoi'o 
l*('i-!'v's  vicloi'v  on  TjaKe  Krie.  I  itrefer  nol  to 
(luidl  on  1 1n*  inortifyinir  l)it  of  history,  excepi  to 
•>ay  lliat  candor  and  jiislice  compel  our  liiniiest 
admiration  for  lliis  Enu'lish  feat  of  d;irin<jr  and 
pi'owess. 

This  ended  all  attempts  to  dislodszi^  the  Knsf- 
lish  from  oni-  island.  It  i'«Mnaine(l  nndei-  their  tlair 
iinlil  terms  of  peace  and  seltleineiit  were  secured 
hy  the  treaty  of  (iheiit.  Febi'uai'y  Isl.'.  Mack'inac 
Was  e\  ei-  a  fa\'<»i'it<'  ]>oiiit  in  the  «\ves  of  the  l>rilish, 
and  all  alon*^  an  ohji'ct  of  t heir  stroiiii'  desiie;  and 
they  were  loath  to  li'Inc  it  up.  Col.  McDonall. 
the  able  and  successful  commandant,  spoK'e  with 
stroiiu-  feeling"  of  the  "inifoid  iinate  cession  <»f  tin* 
fort  and  the  island  of  Michilimackinac  to  the 
1  iiited  States."  It  had  heeii  ;i  matter  of  (»l1icial 
•  oiiiplaint  and  criticism  in  the  pro\ii;ce  of  Upper 
(  anada,  that  after  tln^  first  war  ii  had  heeii  '•in 
judiciously  ceded"  hy  tin'  lMi<.rli~h  i!-o\eriimei!t. 
■  lohn.Tay,  our  .Amerit-an  i'epresentati\'e  in  the  cou- 
lereiice  of  the  treaty  and  the  houndary  lines. 
found  that  tli(»  commissioners  of  the  ('r()\vn  wer(» 
more  intei'«»sted  in  an  "ext^Mided  commerce  tiian  in 
the  possession  of  a  \ast  tra<'t  of  wilderness."  The 
fill'  trade  at  that  time  was  the  main  thin.ir  and 
MacK'inac  was  t he  «j:at«'way  to  all  the  \'\\v  traflic  of 
thowesl  and  soiithwesl  lields.     And  again,   it  ap" 


Uf 


EARLY    MA('KINA(1. 


|)(>ars  ill  n<'«,a)l "uitin^  tlic  1  i-caiy  <'l"  1^1 '» tliat  llio  c )iii- 
iiiissloiKM's  of  llic  ci'owii.  ♦•vt'ii  wlicu  ftM^lini;  ohllLnii 
1o  f(>r(\ii'()  a.  lar.ij:(»  ])art  of  llu-ii-  dcniaiKls,  still  hthl 
oul  for  IIk'  islanti  of  Maclcinac  (and  Foi'1  NiaiiMnn 
as  loiiiz:  as  i)().ssibl(«.*  Tliirly-two  yoai's  had  now 
passed  siiico  tlK»  Anicrican  I'iiiiil  to  Ili«»  island  hiii 
l)('(Mi  acl\M<)\vl('d<r('(l  by  tlicli'caty  of  ITsil.  Ol'llicx 
\('ii  I's  Old V  three  had  Ihmmi  vears  of  wai*.  Ihit  lu! 
oiK'-liaif  of  tliat  wiioh*  ])eri()d  tlie  Hriti-h  thiii'  li;iii 
h<  (Ml  nyini^  over  Fort  Mack'iiiiic.  In  the  coiuplri,. 
stMis(»,  tlier(*tor«\  \ho.  destiny  of  th(^  northwest  \\:is 
not,  assured  nnlil  the  treaty  of  (Jlient.f  Witli  lli;ii 
treaty    tiie  (niestion  was    finally- and   conclusiv  fly 

settled. 

'J'he  |)osts  of  tlie  iOn<jrlish  whic.ii  had  ixMMica))!  mi- 
ed  hy  us,  ai'd  ours  ]i(»re  and  thnr«\  wliich  they  luiil 
tal'.'eii.  wer(»  to  b(^  I'estoi'ed  by  (^acli  «jfov<M'ninent  to 
t  he  ot  her,  [n  conneclion  witli  lliis  mut  ual  deli\  (■r\ 
is  an  interesting  fact.  niontion(Ml  in  a  j)ri\;iit 
letter  whicli  Coloiud  McDonall  wrote  to  l»is  frinni 
and  fellow  oftlcor  of  the  Enirlish  army,  ('a[)t;riii 
Hul<rer.  lie  says  thai  in  the  e(inipiiient  of  .1''mi' 
Maelvinac,  at  the  time  he  was  male in^"  tli(>  transl.i 
were  cannon  be;irin,i^  the  inscriptions:  '•'I'aKeii  ;i' 
Saralo«^''a;"  '""I^dcen  from  F^ord  Cornwalli^,"  an 
other  sucli,  and  lie  sp<'al\s  of  his  cha<i!'in  in  beiiiL' 
()bli«^(»d  to  include,  in  his  j-estoration  of  tln^  foil. 
•runs  which  told  of  Kn<;'lisli  defeat  and  humiliati«'ii 
in  the  lievolntionary  war;  and  thai  as  an  Knulisii 
man  ho  felt    "a  stron*;  temptation   to  a  breach  •' 


*HtMir.v  Adiims'  •  llistttry  nf  Ihr  Unitrd  Staten"  s»l.  V.  p.  :M. 
+IIlns<Uile's  Old  yorlhmnl.'  !•    18.V 


t 


'A 

J 


tf 


niST(^liI('    CAXNC^X. 


r.9 


hi 

r 


t  11h'  c'liii. 

still    lu-ld 

^  Nin«iMrai 

liad    now 

-;lcin(l   lind 

Ol'lllCv, 

tlii<i'  li;i"i 

(•()ni[)lti(' 

iwcst   \v;i> 

With   lliiil 

iclusi\  fly 

ciica])!  Ill' 
thoy  li;nl 
•niiKMit  111 
lI  d('li\'('f\ 
I    ])i'i\;ib' 

lis    i'l-irlid 

,  Caplalii 
\   of  F<>i" 

t  I'aiisl'.T 
•Taken  ,r 
Mis,"    ai;i, 

ill   Im'Iiii; 

11h»  fo! :. 
iiiiiiliati'>ii 

Kiiii'lisli 
hi'racli  o' 


:m. 


ihai  <,''()o(l  I'liith  wliicli  ill  all  |)ul)li<'  treaties  il  i.-^  iii- 
t'aiiiy  to  violate.'' 

Surely  it,  adds  to  our  aiiti(|iiarian  and  patriotic 
iiiitrest  in  the  old  fort  to  know  that  ltiiiis.  capt  iired 
fnMii  Hui'.iroyiK*  and  from  CoriiwaUis  in  the  battles 
(if  the  Ivevolution.  once  lield  [)osition  on  these  laiii- 
]iails. 

\V«'  do  not  know  how  these  honor;. hie  trophies 
of  the  Ivevolution  ever  found  their  way  to  our  i"e- 
mole  jiioneer  out-])ost.  Wedok'iiow.  iiowever.  that 
(tiir  loss  of  tlje  fort.  t!ir<'e  years  before,  explains 
liow  they  <i"ot  hack',  temporarily,  lo  their  I'oriner 
I'aiLtlish  owiHM'shi]).  And  now  in  their  alteiaiat  ions 
of  estate,  after  takin<jc  ])art  in  kee])iiin-oiT  American 
iioopsfrom  the  island,  and  thus,  as  it  wei-r,  i(^- 
(jt'emini:'  themselves  in  Fin<j:lisli  eves  I'roiii  tlie  had 
fortune  ineurred  in  our  war  for  indept'iidence.  they 
aLiain  fell  to  our  liands.  And  w<'  can  appreciate 
Col.  M<-[)onal!'s  sense  of  reii'rel  at  haxiiii;'  to  i^ive 
lliem  u]>.  It  was  the  same  sent  imeiit  which  ('apt. 
Mc.Nfee.  in  his  narrat  i\-e  of  that  war  in  which  h(» 
liiinself  had  a  ])ar1,  tells  us  wa->  exiiihited  hy  .-omo 
of  the  liritish  ol'ticcu's  when  hy  liuirs  sui're:;i|ei' 
se\('i'a,l  brass  cannon  fell  to  their  hands  which  our 
fnrc.'s  had  capt  .1  red  in  i  li<'  war  of  t  he  !i'c\-oliit  ion — 
they  "saluted  IIhmii  with  tears.""* 

It  is  vain  to  surmise  the  lilstory  of  those  in- 
terestinir  .ifuns  subseipietit  to  l"^!'!.  ll<>w  loiiii'they 
rnniaiiied  at  the  island  ]*ost,  and  whetliei-  in  tiiiit> 
they  wei-e  sent  to  the  smelter's  furnace,  or  arestill 
ill  lionorabh)  ])reservati()n  somewlier*^  wltli  other 
w;ir  relics,   wc  cannot   say..     In   this  conned  ion   i! 


•■  i/<«torj/  «i/  (he  Late  War  in  the   Wifltni  Cumiliy." 


m 


KAULV    MACKINAC 


iTKiy  1)0  well  1()  rcinai'lv  cr;)iic(M"irm.i::  llial  old  fiisliK.ii- 
od  cannon  wliicli  liasbcpii  lyiiii^'  in  ])o.'.ilion  on  ih,. 
villan'o  Ixnich  in  fronl  of  \\\c.  '-Jort  prardcn."'  a 
famiruir  ohjfcl  I'or  <i-(MM 'rations  past.  Tlio  storv  !> 
that  the  .iiun  liirnrod  in  Coin.  I'orry's  hat  Ho  oh 
LaU'c  Fjv'u\  tiion.ij:li  wlirthcr  oik*  of  liis  own  a'uiis  ii 
the  action  or  a  liritish  liiin  \viii(  ii  li  >  captui'id  is 
uncertain;  that  it  was  left  h(M-c  Ioiil;-  as^o  l)y  oik'  t,: 
the  iz'ovcnmicnt  revenue  vessels.  That  it  was  |>iii 
in  char.ir*'  of  the  Maclcinac  Cuslcnn  House,  and  iini' 
it  ns«'d  to  sei've  on  4tli  of  .luly  and  other  natioiia! 
occasio'is  \vhi<'h  called  for  celebration  "al  iln 
cannon's  mouth." 

I'pou  their  withdi'awal  from  MacK'inac,  liir 
Enirlisli  irari'ison  estahlisluMl  tiieinselves  on  Dnim 
mond's  Islanil  in  the  northern  end  of  Lake  liiiiMii, 
and  maintained  a  stronjif  ])ost  tlier<\  It  Avas  al'i'-i- 
wai'ds  decided,  liowever,  hy  the  joint  coiinnishiMii 
ers  in  settlin.n'  the  ])oundary  lines  between  'Im' 
United  Slates  and  Canada,  that  that  i)art  of  tin' 
lak*' in  which  Druminond's  Island  lay  belon<re(l  ii. 
the  United  States  sid(^  of  th*  lin<'.  Accoi'diii^'ly  ii: 
Isi's  the  iii'itisli  ufari'ison  i'«'inoved,  and  tho  i.slaiul 
was  turned  over  to  our  <»"()vernim>nt. 

Col.  Anthony  Uiitlor  was  tho  AnuM'ican  oflictM 
to  Avhom  tin' fort  was  delix'ei'ed  .luiy.  1"^!.'),  l)Ul  li' 
]-eniain<'d  oidy  nntil  the  arran*jfenn'nts  i'or  e\a<ii 
iition  were  coniph'ted,  when  he  withdrew  t^ 
Detroit,  and  Captain  VVillou«.,diby  Mor.njin  l)ecaiiir 
tiie  tii'st  commandant  nndi  i*  tho  restored  AmeriiMi! 
rejjfim(\  From  tliat  time  on  there*  was  a  loiiii 
succession  of  i'Oi!ular  army  soldiei-s  and  olticer^ 
inliabiting  tho  old  cpiailers  and  baiTacks.     Many 


[1   flisllioil- 

)ii  on  Ilif 
iirdoii.  ■"  ;l 
t'  s1(»r\'  i> 
lull  He  (11 

'M    ^ii'llh-^   II. 

ipturtMl  is 
)y  oiu'  oi 
1  was  pill 
.  and  tli:i! 
•  iialii)ii;il 
"al     llir 

:iiKi(',    liic 

on  Dniiu- 
:('  lliirnii, 

V!IS    liri"'!'- 

iiinissi"ii 

\V(M'1I    tlio 

irt:  of  Ihr 
l()n<r»'(l  i(. 

I'diiifrlv  ii: 
.lie  i.shiiid 

■ail  olliciT 
.").  hut  li" 
'or  (»\acn 

KJI'OW       tn 

,11  l)('<'aiiii' 
Aiin'rifiii! 
IS  a  loni:' 
I  otticci- 

:8.     Man\ 


SOME   OF   THK   FORT  S   EAUT.Y   OFFICEUS. 


01 


of  ilic  otticers  wlio  afterwards  acquinMl  hi^-U  rank 
;iii>l  (lisliiR'tioii  diir'm.i,^  our  civil  war.  l.^lU-lsC).', 
ciiIkm'  in  llu'  Union  Army  or  Southern,  liad  hccn  in 
srr\  i('«'  JM'ri'  as  youn«j:  Captains  or  Li(Mit<Miants. 
Ai.ion^-  tjicni  w«'r(^  (Jen.  SuniiK'r,  Cleii.  lhMnt/i<d- 
i;i;ni.  <l«'n.  Kirhy  Sniilli,  (Jen.  Silas  Cast'v,  and 
ii.'ii.  I'^rcd  Steele,  for  whom  a  fort  in  the  west  has 
hcen  named.  (Jencral  I'emhcrtoii  was  once  a 
iiH'iiihef  of  th(»  irarrison,  and  in  a  ])i*ivate  letter 
written  l)y  one  of  the  citizens  in  1^40.  when  the 
l;ltl<'  inland  was  ice-hound  and  there  was  a  deartii 
of  news,  it  is  incidentially  inentioiKnl  that  "Ijieut. 
ri'nihecton  in  the  f(>rt  is  en.ira.ured  in  ,i:"ettin.n'  up  a 
|)i'i\at»»  tlieat  i-e.  in  an  en(h'avor  to  ward  olT  winter 
and  solitude,"  — th--  youn<^  olticer  litt  le  dreamintr  of 
lliat  more  serious  drama  in  wliich  lie  was  to  act, 
I  w'ntyllii'ee  years  later,  as  commander  of  A'icks- 
hiirn".  with  (J rant's  hesieiriiiir  army  aroiuid  him. 

During"  the  civil  Avar,  all  troo])S  h(>iniz"  needed 
at  the  front,  the  soldiers  "weri*  withdrawn  fi'om  our 
fort.  ^I'his  was  but  temixmiry.  however,  and  did 
not  mean  its  ahandonment.*  Its  flau'  and  a  solitary 
serieniit  were  left  to  show  tliat  it  was  still  a  milirai'v 
])()st  of  the  United  States.  This  faithful  soldier 
remained  at  the  fort  for  many  years  after  the  wai', 
and  was  known  to  th(»  visitors  as  t  lie  "Old  Serjeant. "' 
i"'<>r  a  period  during  t'ae  war  it  was  made  tiie  place 
<>l  cohtinement  of  som(M)f  theUoiife(h'rat(»  })risoners, 
|>i  inripally  notable  otlicers  wiio  luid  been  captured, 
at  wliich   t ime  Miclii«j:an   volunt(»er  tro(>ps   liehl   it. 

At  the  close  of  th(!  war  tlie  fort  r(>smned  its  old 

*Oc('iisi(in;ill.v  ;it  oiluT  I  iiucs,   ii1m>.   lli<>   '-'iirriMiii   would   b"   Ifriipor* 
iuily  boai  cisuwhurc,  bul  Uii>>  utv'cr  mcuuL  lUc  giviag  u[}  of  ihc  post. 


02 


KARI.V    MAPKIXAC. 


liiiio  sprvi(M»  as  a  «j:ai'ris()ii  ])()st.  tronorally  aln.ii* 
lil'ty  oi"  sixty  iiKMi  of  tlie  rc.irulai'  army,  willi  Hi. Mr 
olticcrs.  ('()iH|)()siii^  1li(»  force.  Adi'lacliiiHMit  Wdiild 
sci'vc  a  few  y«'ars,  IIkmi  be  transfcrnMl  and  anollicr 
would  tal\t>  ils  pla(M'.  to  oiijoy  in  its  tiii-n  the  I('(M||i 
(•rat  ivccruiiatr  of  the  sumnuM*,  and  to  cndiirr  ihc 
ri<i"oi's  and  tlio  isolation  of  tlie  Avinlers.  So  the  oM 
fort  coMtiiiiKMl  in  iiscwitli  its  inoi'ninn*  and  cv ciiiiiL'' 
i:'un.  its  stii'i'in.u:  hii.izic  nottvs,  its  daily  ".i^naid 
mount. ■■  its  paciiiiT  s(Mit  ry,  its  di'ill.  its  ••ins])('('il(»n 
(lavs.  ■■  until  l"^!*.').  Tlicii  tlio  sliarp  and  d«'ci>ivr 
voiceof  autjjority  callcMl  "iialt**  totlir  lon«j:  niurcli 
of  military  liistory  in  \\\o  sti-aits  of  Mackiii;i\v. 
T\\v  United  States  n'ove rumen t.  hy  foj'iual  act  ol 
Couiri-ess  abandoned  tlu^  J'ort,  and  <::ave  it  o\' r. 
t(\iit'tinM-  with  the  National  Park  of  eleven  liundicil 
acres,  to  the  State  of  Michiiritn.  The  fort  was  dis- 
uianllcd.  lln'  old  cannon  were  removed  from  the 
walls,  and  cveiy  soldi*'!'  withdi-awu.  We  do  in»l 
question  tin*  fact,  liiat  as  a  fort  constructed  in 
l>rimitive  times  it  was  unsuited  to  the  days  ol 
uiodoi'u  warfai-(»;  nor  the  fact  that  witii  th(^  nmnrr- 
ous  other  wi'll  e<|uii»ped  ])osts,  th(*  depai'tment  i> 
nKiintaininLT  for  ils  ti'oops,  tliis  old-fashioned  one 
was  not  an  ahsohite  necessity.  Noi*  do  w<^  (\\U'> 
lion  for  a  moment  the  pi'opriety  of  makini;-  \\v 
State  of  MiclTman  tiie  leiratee  and  successor  to  thi> 
pi-opeiMy.  if  the  general  iroveiMiment  wasdetei'uiin- 
ed  to  dispossess  itself  of  it.  It  could  notiia\'e  hcii 
moi'e  suitably  i)estowed.  if  it  had  to  pass  into  ollni 
hands.  The  commissionei's.  to  wliosr  chai'jj^e  it  i-> 
now  c()mmitted.  a[)pi'eciate  and  will  (du'rish  that 
historic  and  patriotic  interest  vvhicii  aituclies  to  the 


ITS  MILITARY   IIIS"TORY    CEASES. 


68 


..l(i  fort,  and  will  ktu'p  tlic  grounds  intact  and  care- 
liilly  guard  tlio  buildings.  Tiiey  will  aim  lilvcwisn 
!,)  proscrvii  tho  trees  an  I  tiio  di'ives  oC  the  piiik  in 
lluit  natural  beauty  wliicli  has  so  long  given  tlicMu 
siuh  charm.  But  while  thus  assui-ed,  it  is  at  the 
>:iuu5  time  a  matter  of  deep  regret  thattlunuilional. 
vornmont  should  have  I'or.salven  the  island.  For 
iliinental  reasons  alone,  oveu  had  thei'o  been  no 
wtlicr,  th(M)ld  foi't  should  have  l)een  retained  as  a 
rniied  States  i)()st.  A  military  seat  whii'h  has  two 
ImndrcHl  years  or  mor(»  of  histoiy  behind  it,  is  not 
often  to  be  found  in  the  west(^rn  \v(jrld.  Indeed, 
w 


'■( ) 


^I'l 


()i( 


til 


iih  tli(3  possible  exception  of  Fort  Marion,  the 
I  Si)aiiish  fori itieat  ion  at  St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  it 
doubtful  if  there  be  anotiier  on  this  whole  conti- 
■nt,  which  could  boast  of  so  long  a  i)ei'i().l  of  con- 
tinuous occupation  as  old  Fort  Michilimackiiuic, 
wliich  Avas  established  first  at  St.  Ignace  in  tin? 
17tii  century,  then  renioviMl  to  old  Maclcinaw,  and 
since  17H0  has  horn  located  on  our  island. 


C'llAPTKK  VIT. 


K;i!'ly  MaclviiKic  had  aiiioiii:'  its  cili/.tMis.  sjyar.st.' 
thou.uli  its  jM)|)ulat idii  was,  :i  inimlx'i'  ol'  iiicii  of 
str()iii4"  cliaracltT  iiinl  izrcat  l)ii>iM('ss  <Mi1<'rpri>('. 
Anioiii;"  lluMii,  not  to  spoalc  ol'  all.  wcm  Micliad 
Do'.iMiiaii.  Joliii  Dousiiiiiu.  Jvlward  ITiddU*.  (J union 
8.  J I  ii!»l)afd,  Saimitd  Abhot  and  Ainl)i"oso  Davt'ii- 
[K)rt.  ,)(»liii  Doiisinaii.  Ai)l)otl  and  Da\(Mi|)ort  wrw 
tlio  deputation  ot"  tlicro  p'lil  Icmcii  rrfcri'od  to  !)y 
Li(Mit.  llauivs.  ill  lii.>  rc'porl  of  tlic  sui'i'ciidor  of  the 
fort,  as  liavinu' accnnipanicd  tlio  tlaic  <>t  truco  in  tin; 
iiciTotiations  luMwccn  ('a[>taiii  Kobrrts  and  hiniscli'. 
After  t!i(»  Enii'lisli  came  into  ])ossession,  t  he  citizen.-. 
were  r(>(juii-»'d.  to  ia!<(»  tiio  oath  of  all(\i,'iance  to  tlif 
\i\uix.  v)f  lliose  thi'u  livin<i:  on  thc^  ishind,  live  aiv 
repoi'tcd  a.s  I'l^fusintr  to  do  tiiis — Mi'ssi'.s.  Daxdi- 
poet .  Ji.)st  wick.  Stone,  and  tlie  two  Dousnian^. 
With  the  exception  of  Michiicl  Dousnian,  wlio  wa> 
l)ernrnt('(L  to  remain  neutral,  tliey  wei'O  obliiifi'd  to 
l(>ave  tiieii'  lionit»s  and  theii*  prop(»rty  until  th'' 
c'los(M)l'  the  war.  Besides  these,  th(»re  were  after- 
wai'ds  thi'eo  men  in  parliculai*  who  tl«j:ur«Hl  in  hii',L!'<' 
spli(M'(»s,  and  wei'f  in  re[)utatiou  iu  otlu^r  parts  of 
the  land  as  well  as  in  this  remote  wilderness  ])!)iii! 
IMiese  wei-(»  Ramsey  Crooks,  Robert  Stuart  ami 
Henrv  It.  Schoolci-aft. 


Mr.  Crooks  came  to  Anieri(;a  from  Scotland. 


;is 


a  voiini!!'   man. 


His   careei'   was   an    active 


aiiii 


*13iiWlc  aaa  lluijUuiil  \vci\,  uul  thcu  rchUlcut.'s  uf  tUo  blaud. 


UAMSKY   CIK^OKS. 


)J 


ll 


i.  s]):irso 

IIUMl    of 

Mk'liarl 

Gui'doii 

Diivcii- 

or!  wi'i'o 

>cl  to  liy 

i*  of    the 

CO  ill  iiie 

liinist'lf, 

»citizrii> 

e   to   \\\r 

tivo  a  IV 

Da  \  I'll- 

ISIlKlll^, 

vlio  ua> 
►  liirod  ic 
mtil   ill'' 

in  lai'L!*' 
parts  of 

,uii't  ami 

thiiid,  .i^ 
ivo    anti 

luud.        ^1 


stirring  ono.  Ho  was  known  in  connoction  with 
llic  fur  trade,  it  is  said,  from  tho  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacitic.  His  hnsinoss  invoi\'od  niiicli  of  [)oi-ilous 
Niiinicying  and  staiM  lini,^  udvrntufo  in  th«'  north 
and  in  th(ifar  west.  Ho  was  witii  Hunt'soxpoditiou 
arrnss  tl»o  Kocdcy  Mountains  iind  to  tlio  Pacitic 
>()a>l,  as  far  back  as  isi  1,  and  a<j:ain  tlio  next  year 
In-  i  lado  the  sani«^  overland  joui-ncy  l)ack  to  the 
Ka>t.  Ho  was  an  oducat(Ml,  intolliL'-cnt  man,  woll 
(WlM'i'ioncod  in  human  natur(\  and  hin-jdy  rated  for 
his  jud.n'mcnt.  his  ontori)i'iso  and  liis  into<rrity. 
He  was  ono  of  Mr.  Astor's  •i<irlit  iiand  men  in  the 
I  xtciisivo  l)usin(»ss  of  tiie  fur  company.  In  tho 
Am  'I'ican  ox[)odition  a<i:ainst  tho  island  in  h'^l-t,  in 
ill"  att(Mn[»t  to  dishnl^i^o  tlio  Enii-lish,  lio,  toiifoUier 
Willi  Dav(Miport  and  J(jhn  Dousman,  had  ac- 
coiiipanii'd  tlni  scpiadron— the  latter  two  as  oxpatri- 
ai(Ml  citiz(Mis,  well  acfjuainted  with  tho  waters,  to 
iiclp  as  jjfuidos;  and  Cro<jks  to  watch,  as  lar  as  lie 
(ould.  tlio  interests  of  Mr.  Astor.*  Ho  did  not 
Hiulvo  Mackinac  liis  pormam  it  residonco  dui'inu:  the 
whole  time  of  his  conn(»ction  with  the  business, 
l)Ut  Mas  moi'o  or  loss  on  the  island. and  eni^aii-ed  in 
lis  ottico  work.  Now  York,  aft<M'wards,  was  his 
lioiiH^:  and  on  Astor's  s(dlin<x  out,  ho  Ijocamo  chief 
lii()[u*iotor  and  thc^  president  of  tho  com])any.  It  is 
said  of  him  tliat  ho  concentrated,  in  liis  r<Mni- 
nl>cencos,  the  history  of  tho  fur  trade  in  Amei'ica 
t"i'  forty  years.     He  died  in  New  York  in  1H59. 


^S<.•hl»l)l^•^;lfL  speiikiii!-'  of  Duvi'iiporl,  (\vlu>,  lu*  says.  \v;i.«.  ;i,  Vir^iuiiin), 
roifis  to  his  thus  '  siiiliUK'  iiboiit  tlu;  l.■^luIul  uiul  lu  sivrlit  of  his  own 
tiMiii' ■'  lie  remarks,  too.  thill  tor  liis  sulIiriuKs  unci  hissos.  he  "Ught 
1)  h;ivc  b.'L";!  icmuiK'ratrd  liy  tho  (Jovorurncut 


66 


KAKLY   MACKINAC. 


KobiTt  Stuart  was  also  a  iialiv«?  of  Scotlatui. 
boi'ii  ill  17^4.  Ho  came  to  America  at  the  a^'-p  of 
Iwoiity-two  y(»ars,an(l  illustrat«»(l  the  saiuo  spirit  f.f 
(M»tori)ris(3  and  adv(Mitiir(».  llo  lirst  lived  in  Mon. 
tnnil,  and  sorvod  with  tlu»  NortiiwcsKM-n  Fui'  ('.. 
Ill  1^10  lin  coniMM'ted  liiinsclf,  to^otlicr  wiili  h 
uncN'.  ]);ivid  Stuart,  with  Mr.  Astoi-'s  hiisin.-.. 
and  AVMs  «)ne  of  tiio  party  that  sailed  Ironi  ^tw 
York  l»y  tlio  sliip  "Tonquin"'  to  Ibund  tlio  fur  liadr 
city  ol"  Astoria,  on  tiio  Pacitic  Coast.  In  l^ii',  ii 
boin«r  oxceiHliiiLrly  important  thi.t  certain  pa|M'i> 
and  dispatclios  be  taken  fi-oui  Astoria  to  N«  w 
York,  and  the  ship  in  llio  meantiinc  b«Mn«^  (icstioy 
od,  and  there  bein^  no  way  of  niakinijf  the  trip  I*, 
soa,  Stuart  was  put  at  thc^  In^ad  of  a  i)arty  to  uii>iiM 
take  the  journey  overland.  Kamsey  Ci'ooKs  w.is 
one  of  tlie  band.  This  trip  across  the  inoiiiitaiii-> 
an<l  tlirouijrh  tlie  country  of  wild  Indians,  and  c.i  i 
arid  plains,  involved  s(»vero  iiardships  and  j>ti  , 
and  illustrated  the  nerve,  and  vi.yor,  and  I'esoiirn  > 
of  the  young  h»ader.  Tlie  party  was  nearly  a  \ » ;u 
ou  the  way.  In  1811)  lit?  came  to  Mackinac  and  1m' 
canni  a  resident  partnc^r  of  the  American  I'm 
Com]iany,  and  su[)erintendent  of  its  entire  busiiii» 
in  the  west.  He  wa.  remarkably  om^rgctic  in 
business,  a  leader  among  men,  and  a  conspi(ii<;ii> 
and  forceful  character  wh(M'ever  he  niiulii  In' 
placed.  l!i  the  lack  of  hotel  accc;nimodalions  h^ 
homo  was  constantly  giving  hospitable  welcome 
and  entertainment  to  visit  ing  stranger.s.  H<'  d  w'li 
on  the  island  for  fifteen  years,  and  wIkmi  'Ik 
company  sold  out  in  1H34,  removed  to  Deti'oit.  II'' 
was  afterward  appointed  by  the   Governmem  a> 


UODi:UT  STIAUT.  07 

luilijiii  (  oimnissioiKM'  foi*  all  tlio  iribosot  ili(»  luti," 
w<'>l,  and  ,*ruai*(l<Ml  tlioir  iutiTcsts  with  |);ii(Mii;il 
cai'c.  Tli(^  Imliaiis  iisrd  to  spcalc  of  him  as  tlicii 
h»'st  friend,  llo  also  >t'i-\«'d  as  Slate  lic:isurcr, 
and  tit  the?  (Wpii'iitioii  of  his  term  of  olli.n;  whs 
lni>tt'(!  and  st?crctarv  oi'  I  ho  Illinois  a!»d  iMirhiu-aii 
Canal  Hoard.  Active'  in  frJ*<'at  coninuM-cial  and 
public  intiM'osts,  Ik*  was  also.  siil)st'(|ii(Mit  to  liis 
(MMvorsioii  oil  Iho  island  in  1>^1'*^,  zealous  and  pr  )ni- 
iiciil  ill  church  woi'k  and  always  bore  a  ninh 
Christian  cliaraclfi-.  lie  died  verv  suddenly  at 
Cliica.iifo,  in  1848.  His  body  was  taken  by  a  vessel 
()\er  liic  lalc(»s  to  Detroit  for  burial.  In  [)assing 
.Nhiclcinac  tlie  boat  laid  awhile  ;it  the  dock,  and  all 
the  |)eo[)lo  of  the  villa,ii:<'  ]»aid  their  resjjocts  to  the 
(lead  body  of  one  who  had  Ixmmi  in  lornn^r  ye;i rs  a 
resident  of  the  island,  so  well  known  and  so  i^reatly 


leenuH 


In  connection  with  tluCFur  C()ni]>Mny  work  of 
llie  island,  which  thes(»  two  men  did  so  much  to 
lironi()t<\  it  may  be  well  to  ([uote  from  Mis.  .lolm 
k'inzie,  the  wife  of  a  Chieaii'o  pioneer,  who  with 
her  husband  was  her(Mn  is;]().  hi  her  interestinif 
lioolc  "Wau-Hun,  the  'Eai'ly  Day'  in  the  Nortli- 
wi'sl."'  she  thus  wi'ites.  speaK'inir  of  that  period: 
"These  were  the  palmy  days  of  Mackinac,  it  was 
no  unusual  thinu:  to  see  a  hundr<Ml  or  mo''(*  canocvs 
f  Indians  at  once  approachiui,'  th<^  island,  ladiMi 
ilh  th(Mr  ai'tich^s  of  traftic;  and  if  to  th(vs(»    was 


I ) 


w 


add«'d  the  h([uadi'on  of  lai".ij^«?  Mackinaw  boats  con- 
stantly an-ivini;  from  the  out])osts  with  the  fin's, 
p -hl-ies  an<l  bulfalo  robes  C(»llccte(|  by  the  distant 
Irad'M's,  some  ideamav  b(»  formal  of  the  extensive 


t 


EAKLV   MACKINAC. 


<)|t»M'nt  i"ii-     ;u'(l     lilt'     iiii]M»rt;iii1     position     of    llx 
ViMtWK  .111    l''iii*  ( 'oiiiyuniv.    a.s   well   as  of    ihr    \  ;im 
(•icl<'(r    ii!iiii;in   iM'iiiii's  j'itlxM"    iimiH'diatcIv  oi*  n- 
11)1  ticlv  ciMtiH'cii'd  with  i1.  " 


h'     •  V  11.  Srliooicrafl  r!\('(l  oil  tin'  islaii  I 


I'uiii 


1.^;!l{  to  I  -  1 1.  lir  \v.i>  ;i  iKil  i\  f  of  tin'  Slatr  (  f  Xc  , 
Yorlc.  '  l<' was  a  St  H'.lciit .  an  iiiNcsliirator*  in'o  \\\,' 
fuels  aiH'  pli<Mioiiitiia  of  naiuff.  a>  rciiiai'Uaihf 
liiiLTiiiM.  a  iri't'at  tia\«'l('r  ami  t'\pl<)i-ci-.  ami  a 
prolitic  "n-ni«'i-.  lie  was  irncn  to  anliafolcrMh-jil 
roscarcliw-s;  hv  rxploiM'd  iln»  valley  ol  tlit< 
Mi.'+HissHp^i;  Iro  iiiivsl  iiralHU  lli«'  niiiM'fal  i-c^mirci's 
«)f  iiiucli  oi  t li"  Wot.  part  ic'.ilafly  of  Miss«H;i-i:  anil 
ln' ili>i-(  ^\«'"f(l  t  lit' s<  Mii('«»  of  liio  Mis.-^i.>sippi  i:i.('!'. 
Uis  ;^Ti'ait  vvoi'ls.  ami  liy  wliji-li  ||(>  is  !-ii»st  Iciinwii. 
was  t  hat  iii  connect  n  >n  \\  il  li  '  ln'  I  ndiaii  rare,  lia\  ii:ir 
siMvit  Ibirtr  v<'ais«»f  iiis  Iif»-  in  cotitac,  willi  tln'i;;. 
TM',sid<'s    hi-*  travels  aiiioii«i  iJie  ti-ilM'-^  t linMiid.oi;! 

■>• .  '  <•'   Iiis    pufMiil-.  li'ii 


the  west  :;  ad  iioft  liw  ••>: . 
liini,  lie  \va>  ll.e  (  lo\fniiii.<'iil  ;i:.;eiit  in  Indian  alTiiiis 
lir  t  aiV  S  I  Sio.  Marie  f<  .|- cievfn  \eais.  and  ilnii 
.»-l\iiiuc   fi>i'  <'iirlii    v«  ars.       lie   mentions   that 


I!    M 


ill  oiu'   t  lint*  •  •  t'f   fonr  te<,nssLii(i    IndiaiiS  \\ei t 

faaij)«*d  aioii;/  ibt»  .siio-pn-s  of  tlh^*  i-iaiid  loranmiiti 


:in  i  t  li.ii  1  he  a.i...U!!  les 
t«  «i*7U,(»!'0  in   inniiey  ; 
bi  I  he  iieL""!  ■         '  >\\  of 


wilij     1  he    t  I'l  i  -'>. 


■  paid  lliaK  year  am   ua!«'U 

[  ^^m>n\ia.      Ho  uhso  >•  I'Vcii 

I'l--.   f'tr  the  ( iovennneii; 

in?   at    tlio   Sauit.  li"' 


•H  a  II. 


d  '         I  a  -ij-i.      L!  -r  father.   M 
;.    Jf    -li         'ri  leiuuil  of  L'oitil 


.id'VnejH^  coMii'rv 


John  .join 

stjuidiii*]^.  who   d^-   'diiiLT  in  I  Ih» 

of  T^alce  Snp«Tioi .  iiadf<»i!nd   .   ,         in  the  danu'liU't' 

of  ail  Jndian  (hiet.     Thi 


^»< 


Miss  .J  oh     r-'ell 


IIKNIvV    K.     S(  Hot  i|,<  liAI'T 


t'.'.l 


had  boon  s<'iil  to  Fiin'opr  wliih'  m  y<Mini5  prirl  to  ho 
,  i  .,'ii1«'(l  iiiidt'i"  ill*'  cai'c  of  licr  fallicr's  j-olativcs. 
;iini  slu' Ix'ciuiio  a  refined  and  <Mdti\al«'d  ('liii>!ian 
ladv. 

Mr.  S(;!iO()l('i*iift  in  liis  oij^ht  yoars'  rosiilcnco 
on  tlio  isliind,    li\('d    in    the    lionsc   known   to   all 


V 
V 


HENRY  R    SCHOOLCRAFT,  LL    D. 

ivad«>rs  of  Miss  Woolson's  "Aunt'"  as  tin*  "Old 
Auiiicy."  lie  wiitt'S  on  his  aifival:  "Wo  I'oinul 
oiiisch  t's  ;it  oas(^  in  llio  rm-al  and  ].ict  nrt'^qno 
LTnunds  and  domicii*' of  ihcUnitod  States  Aironoy, 
<»\  ti  liun*::.  as  it  is,  ])y  iinpoiidinir  <*lilTs  and  r.»tn- 
muiidini^ono  ol  tiio  ni<>.st  ploa.sinK  and  i-aplivating 


70 


KAIiLV    M.UKINAC. 


f 


It'll' 


views  of  l;i]x<»  sccnorw'"*  Kv<M'v  siibji'ct  of  ■.(icii- 
t.ilic!  iiiltM'(\st,  all  llic  physical  iilicnom'Mi.'i  o!  ih,. 
isluiid,  a.!nl  iis  fini'Kjiiit  it-s  aixl  his|(ii'i<'  [cahu'cs,  and 
Jill  quest i()ii>  |M'riaiiiiii:4'  to  the  Indians  and  llu'i 
met'  ciiai-acicriNt  ics.  lln'ir  lialiiisand  custoui.s.  i 
hin.irua.^'o,  llicii-  traditions  and  !*'L:'t'nds,  {||,.i) 
rdi^'io'*.  and  csprcially  ali  that  niiniit  N-ad  to  fhcir 
moral  and  social  iii.|iro\t'nii'nt — these  \ver<«  niaticrs 
.•)r  liis  ('(Jtistant  sluvly.  At  \\\>'  same  time  he  Kcjit 
ahi'cast  of  t  h«?  «jreinTa)  litcfat  are  of  the   dav.    ii'iid 


illjJT  I'Ik'  bnok's  of  iioti'  as  llicy  appcafcij  and  hi 
uiakiiii:"    eont  r-ilmliuns    to    !ii<>iMt  iiic    hv    lil 


n  1  'M  i ! 


S     (tWll 

Ullii  1; 


ImioU's  and  review  articles  ai»d  trcaiisc.*- 
wew  ]»ul>lis)HMi  in  the  Mast  and  in  i'ai.iidand.  In  !iis 
remote  island  h<»!nr.  ice  honnd  h)r  half  tjic  \(;ir 
and  larjifely  shnl  onl  fr(»ni  the  woi-ld,  ]\o  was  yt 
Welllsnown  h\'  hi,-.  Wfitiiru's  in  1  ho  hiLihestcirt  Irsnf 


1 


ea^rninLT 


Visit 


oj's  of  note.  frr)ni  Knropeasu 


■•'i!  as 


WCI'i 


fi'om  Ihc  Kastern  Stales,  com.  cr  lo  thei.sland 
fre<picntl\  ('aliin.Lrat  his  hoiiscwith  let icrsof  iniri 


ihu'i 


ion. 


11 


e  \\  as  \oi"d  a  eomplinieidary  m 


em  I II' 


ship  in  nnmei'ons  scienl  itic,  historical  and  an!  iijua- 
rian  >ociet ie;;.  l)oili  in  thisconntry  and  in  t!ie  ei.i 
world.  II"  hail  cori'cspiindents  amonj,'  seln>i;iis 
and  sa\"anls  o!'  t  he  hi^'hest  rank'.  Ili>  opiidon.s  ;mhi 
views  on  sniijects  of  which  he  had  nnule  a  study 
W(»r»*  ^really  |tri/<Ml.     'The  eminent  Sii-  ll;nnplnv\ 

•e,     CWpressed     ill' 


Davy,     of    Kn,i;'land.     for    in>!an( 

liiLrhesI    appieciat  ioii   oi'   certain    contrilmtioii 

scieiititii"  iatei'ol  whah    Mr.    Schoolcraft    had    pi'i 


s  (I, 


•[||  tin*  iiiIihIm  i»f  miiiif  iMiw  llvllii.'  nii  ;  In*  Kliiul  li>'  liii^  Itcin  c.iniiisiil 

with  lll-i  lilMLhi'l  .  .I.Wtli-s   Si'll'MiliTllft  .    Wlh)   tll->.l   lUiil    ill    till-    \ill;i:.'<'    llill 

wiis  muiilfUMl  !•>.  a  .lii!m  'r  miiri'.  ih  I^Kl. 


in;Mn'   u.    sciiooLciiAFT.  71 

jcn'-d  iii  his  isljiiid  honi*';  und  Cluii'los  Diirwiii,  in 
hi>  \vo|-l\,  "TIk' l)<'S(;«Mit  of  iM?lii.  "  quotes  willi  up- 
|)io\-;il  some  opijiion  ]\r  liad  rxpj'esst'cl,  and  calls 
iiiin  ••:i  most:  capabki  judiic  "  l*r()i',  Silliman,  also 
I'X  IVesidt'iits  .iolin  Adams,  Tlios.  .It'tTcrson  and 
.liiiiM's  Madison,  ^v^olo  liim  k^tlcrs  of  mai-kod  ap 
proliation  respect injjf  a  contiMbulion  he  had  writicn 
In)'  tlic  American  CJeoloirical  Society,  naiicroft 
>Miil'err(ul  with  liim  hefoi-e  ^vl•itill^''  tliose  ])aits  of 
ill-"'  "I  listory  of  tiie  United  Stat<s.  "  wlncli  jMM'lain 
ii.  ill"  Intliaiis.  and  was  in  frecpient  correspondence 
uilh  him;  and  Tjonj-''fello\v.  in  liis  lliawidlia  Indian 
iii»|c«<.     expresses    his  Sense  <,\'  oi)li«,'a,t  ion    to    liim. 


S'  >ine  o 


I'  SchoolcralTs  h-ctin't^s  wei-e  translated  into 


I"  iich.and  a  piize  was  awarded  liim  hv  tli«'  Nat 'onal 
li.sl  il  nle  o!' i<"'raiice.  Amonu'"  liis  fre«|ii'Mit  corres- 
|.  hdents.  as  lie  was  an  active  ('liri>tiaii  and  in 
.s\inpathy  with  all  church  inieicsts.  wei-e  the 
s.'cretarJHS  ()!' dilTeretit  missionary  soci<'ties  in  lli«' 
M.ist,  se»'kin<4  Ills  opinion  and  his  coun>el  in  i-efcr- 
cnce  to  t  he  location  of  stations  and  the  meihods  (»f 


\\n 


•1;    anion*?    the  Indian  ti-ihes. 


r\\ 


ri 


le  amount  of 


liierary  work  lie  accomplished  was  rehiarUahle. 
("•|iecially  iu  view  of  his  pulilic  sei-\ic(>s,  wlii<  h 
niton  I'ecniiied  extensive  journeys  in  distant  wildei-- 
iit'ss  reirions,  and  much  of  camp  life,  lie  uas  of 
iviiiurUahle  physical  via-o!- and  industry,  however, 
and  it  is  said  of  him.  that  he  had  been  known  to 
\\ill.'  from  sun  to  sun  almost  (»very  day  for  many 
yeai's. 

Mr.  Schoolcraft  i-'iiioved  /rom  the  island  t*. 
N.w  NorK-  in  IKII.  and  after  an  extensive  travel 
llu'ou,ii-h    Europe,  ae\uted   hiujself   principally   t'> 


>^ 


72 


KAlil.^'    MAC  KIN AU 


literary  worlc.  fl*'  ])ul>lislH'(l  i\h()u\  tliii'ty  dilTiMvin 
books.  TlicBc  ljn'<r<'ly  ])t'i'l;rn!tMl  lo  his  exploi-ni  iitii>, 
tUid  to  sciciilitic.  siil)j»'cls.  'J'Iip  ('liicf  jji-oducls  ol 
iiis])«Mj  ill  i'('S[)('ct  lo  tin*  Tiidiaus  wci'O  liis  '"Ak-ic 
Ivost'iu'clios,  "*  and  lah'i'liis  very  (»xtt'nsivo  "b'.iliiKi 
lojU'ical  Kcscarclics  aiiioii*^'  tlu^  K»'d  Men."  wliidi 
Nvas  ])i'»'i)ar(Ml  imdcr  the  dirtMiioii  and  ])alr(>nai:<' (i| 
Coii<'ro.ss.      It   i>;  in   six  larirc*  voIuiih's  wiili  over 


'.urn  c( 


olDprd  (Miii'i'aviims. 


and  was  issiiod  in  llir  hot 


stylcM)!'  llic  jtrintt'f's  art       It  is  a  thesaurus  of  in 
formation,    and  furnishes   tli«'  most  complete  mikI 
authenlic  ti'eatmenltii(»  sul).ieet  lias  ever  i-eceived. 

Fnr  ne.'irjy  twenty  years  Mr.  Schooici-aft  li\i'i|;it 
Washiii.ii'tnn.  and  died  th(3re  in  Dec.MMuher.  I'^ill. 
Tlie  IJev.  Dr.  Sunderland,  for  over  l(U*ty  \e;tr->  a 
I^reshyterian  pastor  in  that  city,  lias  said  of  liiiii: 
"lie  Avas  a  nohle  Christ ian  man,  and  his  last  y>';[v> 
wcii'c  spent  ill  the  society  of  his  friends  and  ainoii: 
his   hooks    '••■    *   a    liKxIest,    retli-iiijET,    Uliosteiitiil  i<  ii:> 

:m. but  of  de(>)),  sincere  pietyaiid  i^really  intercNi- 


m 


vd  \n  the  welfare  (»{'  maidvind. 


K 


CTTAPTKU  VI  IT. 

Willi  the  cx'plonM*,  llio  triul.T  juhI  llio  soldier, 
ill  tli(^  early  tliiys  ol"  1h(»  i^'rciicli  occiipalion.  Wu'vo 
(■;mi«)  iilso  the  ]iiis.si()tKiry.  Mor(»  t,li:iii  two 
centuries  a.n'o  ])i()!H'('r  .l(!suil  ])i-i«'sis  planted  tlie 
(TOSS  in  thoso  wilds  ot'  tlip  upper  lak"s;  lirst;  at 
Saidt  St(».  Mari(\  as  oarly  as  two  Imiidred  :iiid  IjftN 
years  siiieo.  and  tli.'u  in  it'iTl  in  our  Michiliinaclcinac 
(■t\£ri<>n  of  St.  T.L,'iia< •»','■  on  the  uoiMlii-ni  luainlaiid. 
iour  miles  ac-i'oss  from  liie  island.  The  hnier  worl; 
is  associated  part  iculai'l\'  with  Mar<|iiei  !e.  whi. 
lounded  it,  and  w  ht)  was  one  of  t  ln'  most  h»  i'(  (ic  and 
:|i'\nte(l  of  the  early  missionaries  w  ho  cimie  to  i  Iii> 
I  MMlinent,  from  Fr;nic<».  Ht»  was  a  ^,eli<»lai'  and  a 
man  of  science, nee.  irdiiijif  to  t  he  ;it  1aimii"nls<d"  I  !ia. 
day.  It  is  said  he  was  ac«piainied  wil  h  .si  x  dilTerenI 
hin«4iiaLrcs.  lie  was  held  in  re\ecent CSleem,  l.nlh 
hy  the  saA'ajifes  of  the  woods  and  hy  t  he  i  i-idei-s  and 

('iVlcerS  of  the  set  !  leiiieiils.       'J'o  li  is  CM  1 1  U  I'e,    llis    Ce- 

lini'ineid.  and   his  spirituality   were  ailded   the  en 
thusiasm  and  dnrin.i,'  «d'  the  explnrcr.      Me  ",  .'ut  oid 
to  tiiul  new  (•(Hint  ries  as  al><>  to  pre;icli  in  t  iie  pic  mi 


wild; 


In     H'lTIi.    aeeoiiip;in 


eil     IK 


1 1 '  1 .      he    Si ' ! 


forlli  from  SI.  jirmice  with  a  small  eoinpaiiy  in  Iwi 
hark  canoes,  on  ii  lonu:  vnyap'  <»''  discovery.  He 
Iruek  out  into  T^alvt^  Michiiran.  thence  into  the 
ri VIM'S  of  Wisconsin. and  thence  int<^  the  Mississippi, 
and   tloat'Ml  down    that,  yreat    ri\<'-    as  fai'  as  to  ;, 


•rulUl  IrO<lUOlS,  UH  ll   WliS  IllNl  UlKlWIl. 


n 


m 


I 


KAIiLY    MAClKLNAt' 


Itoiiii  soiiM'  tliirly  miles  Ix'low  Ili<»  moiitli  of  ih.' 
Arkansas  riv<'i\  iilinoNt  to  II. o  Louisiana  liur, 
'i'lifi't'  1  lir  . soul  hern  Joui'!K\y  was  (Muled  aiul  lli.'  iv 
Iiirti  1ii|)  Avas  Im'i^'iiii — a  set  n  id  in, '4"  llio  Missis.>,iii|il. 
(Milfi-in.L;*  tlic  Illinois  and  thus  rcacliinn"  LaK'c 
Mirlii.i^an  a^^'-ain.  I'»iil  for  Mar([ueit('  llic  ti*i|)  \v.l^ 
never  linislicd.  He  died  ;it  a.  point,  on  the  easlfin 
slion»  of  tliat  lake,  about  midway  l>etW(MMi  ils  u]i)h  r 
and  lowi'i*  ends,  and  was  l)urie(l  tlier(»  by  liis  e\i'r 
lailhlul  and  devoted  Indian  (•om[)anions.  '1',, ^ 
years  al'liTwards  liis  body  was  (\\lnnned  ;ii'd 
rt'\  rreiii  ly  tak'en  baric  for  internuMit  at  llie  St. 
Iii'nace  Mission,  wlii«di  be  had  lon.iriJiiily  de>iii'(i 
aii'ain   to  I'eacli.    but   bad    die<l  without,  the  siL-ht, 


The  discovery  of  his  «;i"ave  in  the  ])i-esent  lown  d! 
Si.  I«j:naee,  in  tlx' your  1.S77,  lias  «4:iven  new  inlei'-^i 
to  tliat  locality. 

^^>llowin<,' tb(»  tem])orary  abandonment  of  tin 
l''reii(h  post  of  Micbillmackinac  in  I7t>l,  iindthei-' 
iiio\al   of    the    seltleinenL    to    Detr;»it,    as    air 


wiv 


III'. 


\<' 


rt'fi'i'retl  to,  the  St.  Ijjfnace  Mission  \\as  ,iri\t'n 
and  the  church   burned  by  the  piiesls  theuisel 
in  ft-ar  'est  it  siiould  be  sa<*i'ile«i'iously  destroyed  l'\ 
the    s;i\a,L;'es.      Sul>.se([Uenl  ly.   on   tlie   reeslahli  >li 
iiit-nt  (»f  t  he  fort  on  ih(.'  soutlu'rii  penin>ula  oppo>l!. 
t  l',e  ( 'at  Iiolic  mission  was  i'e\i\'ed  and   the  Cliui  ■!' 
of  St.    Ann    was   oi'^-ani/eil  —  the    chui"<h    and 
L'ld  i  re  set  thMiient  of  fiimili«\s,as  well  as  t  he  «jrai'ris 
beiuy    within   the    palisaib*   enclosure.       VVh< n    \u 
17^0  llu'  fori  was  r<Muoved  to  the   island — :M»d   ;!> 
set  I  lers  followln*r  —  the  church   was  al.so   remo\ii. 
itslo^sand  tind»ers  beinjj^  takeu  tlowu  separai' '\ 
and  then  rejointed  and  seL  up  a^rain.      ll  stood  •• 


MADAM    LA  I'liAMIlOISK 


75 


tlio  old  Imryiii.i;-  1<»1  souili  of  llio  pi-rscut  Astor 
lloiiso.  Sul)s«'(|ii(Mi1ly  it  was  rcinovcil  to  another 
silc  All  iuUlilioii  was  iiiado  OA'leiidiiiii:  Its  Nmi.l'IIi, 
:iii(l  llu'old  cliurcli  coiiliiiucd  to  stand  until  it  ^';i\t' 

\  \y  1o  11m!  |>i"osont.  Iar«^'<'  cdiiict',  hniit  (»n  tli*'  same 
^Mot,  ill  1^74.  As  an  ori^'ani/ation.  lin\\('\',r.  ili.> 
.  iiiir(di  dales   Tar  Imck    to  llic  cai-ly  days  (>\it  id 

Id  Mii('l\iiia\v.     'J"*!!!^  ji: round  on  wliicli  tlie  i)uiidin",r 
iiow  stands  \vas  a  biwiucst  to  the  jtaiisii  by  a  Madam 
L:i  l*'i'aud)ois(',  wiio  li\'<  tl  iifarhy,  witii  tliostij)ula 
ti.  lu  tliJit  at.  death  Ikm'  1)o.Iv  slioidd  he  l»nrii'(|  undei- 


I  III'  t 


dial',  ill  ca^e  the  cliureh  slioidd  l)e   rcino\t'd 


o 


llie  places  iiurKjated.  Tiiis  beii.i^-  (h)ne,  the  coiidi- 
liniis  of  tlio  ^viIl  \vei'(>  fultilled.  M'liis  Madam  \\a> 
.'I  Iiuli;>.u  blood,  mid  the  widow  of  a.  I''!t'ii<h  I'ur 
1 1  ader.  She  Is  reported  to  lia\'e  been  a  woman  o I'  re- 
ii;ail\"al>le  eneci:\-  and  elite  ri)rise.  ;ind  on  the(h>al  h  oj' 
li T  liusband  ably  imma^y'ed  tlio  business  be  had  l"!"!. 
She  iieqiiiiuHl  the  rudiments  of  edueat  ion  after  her 
i.iarria<jf(\  b(>in,i!:  taiiirht  by  Ium-  liusl):nui,  and  in 
later  3'ears  ii.ad*'  it  a  eustoin  to  i-eeeive  youn.i; 
jiiipilsal  lierhmiseto  |ea<'h  tliem  to  read  and  write. 
:ind  also  to  inst  ruc'li  them  in  the  ])i-inri]i!es  (d'  lier 
.•Ti«^ioii.  Iler  <lau<^'hter  bei'auie  tlie  wiTecd'  Tjit  ul. 
■  lohn  S.  Pierce,  abr-otherof  President  l'iei'e(\  who 
Vvasaii  olticer  at    tin-   i^arrison    in   the  early   days, 

i-ir.  IsiU 

111  tlie  early  limes,  the  island  Ix'in.L!:   so   remote 

.     |»ioiie*'r  |>t)iiit,  aiul  its  ])o[uilation   iiiea,iir(>,   this 

•ish  (lid  ?H»l  always  lia\e   a  resident,  priest,   and 

lueli  of  the  timo  could  only  b(?  visited   by   one 

ureo-idar  and  often  tlistant  intervals.      In   IT'^L', 

])etitioii  siufiied  by  the  iin>rehants  and  other  in 


T) 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


liabitJiiits  of  tho  villajj:*',  was  aildrc^ssml  to  (UmkihI 
liaUlimaud,  ilit^  Eiij^lisli  CiovtTiior  (Jend'al  of  Hie 
Province,  asking  that  tho  Govciiiinciit  talcc  sicps 
to  iiid  ill  socuriniiT  a  cure,  or  nrmistci"  of  rcliiiidti. 
for  tlic  stated  inaiiitfMiaiu'c  of  scrviccvs.  Thcic  ;t|i 
pears  iiotliin«i^  to  show  that  this  wasiri'Jintcd.  'I'Im' 
fill"  trad(^  broujifljt  an  citMiioiit  of  nopukilioii  of  a 
vciy  mixed  chai-actei".  Tli«'j'(!  wen*  tlie  ediicuhtl 
oHicrrs  and  clerks  of  Iht^  company,  and  iln' 
ri>i/(i(j('irr}i  and  ti'a})i)(M's,  who  spent  most  of  IIm  ir 
time  in  ihc  woods  and  on  the  watei-.  with  ^Ia(•l^ill;k(■ 
as  theii-  place  of  i-estin**"  and  wau'ejiayment.  ;iiiil 
Ihe  [dare  of  the  I'ccU'less  wastini^  of  liieic  hard, 
cinit'd  money.  Oiu^  who  Icnew  well  thc>  early 
chai-actei' of  the  ishimh  said  of  it.  that  few  ])l;ii(,s 
on  1  he  cont ineni  liad  l)e('n  so  celrbi-alcd  a.  I(»c.alitv 
for  wild  enjoyment;  that  tlie  earnin.LTs  of  a.  y»'a!' 
werc^  oflen  speid.  in  tlu^  cai'onsals  of  a  week"  oi  a 
day;  tinit  \]\o  h)rdiy  HiijfhlaiKh'i'.  the  hnp<>lii(»iis 
son  of  Krin.  and  tliH  ])rond  and  indepcMidint 
lOn^lishman.  did  not  (h>  mneli  Ix'tler  on  the  scoiv 
of  moral  responsiliilit  ies  than  the  luniilile 
V(nj(f<icitrs  and  conrirr  dcf^  hoi-^:  tlial  t  h(\v  hrolce  ti'cMnr 
ally,  iiiin' onl  of  tlie  ten  commandmenis  withoiil  a 
winee.  hul  kept  tiie  otliei*  \ery  scrnpidonsly,  ami 
would  llasli  up  tunl  call  thnir  companions  to  a  diifl 
wlio  <loul)ted  th(Mn  on  tluit  point! 

]*i-olestant  Missions  in  tlie  west  f^radually  took 
shape  as  the  seltlenn'ut  of  tlui  country  advanced 
fi'om  tho  sead)oai-(l.  The  Ivev.  David  Hacon,  of  tli»' 
C'Onnecticmt  Missioiuii-y  Society,  the  father  of  th*' 
kite  Dr'.  Tjeonard  liacon,  preached  on  the  island  fni- 
a  .short  time  as  far  back  as  1x0:1;  not,  howcvci",  e- 


^ 


i  < 


lOtl. 


KIMSCOPAL    cmiall    OKCAM/Kl^. 

I:il)lishii)*?  51  mission  or  oriiiitiiziiiir  ;i  cliurcli.  'I' 
ill  l^l'O.  the  lit'V.  .Icdidiali  Morse.  1).  I)..  :i  ('(>!i<ri-,.. 
iiatioiial  iniiii.Nlrr,  llir  r.itli(«i-  of  llic  invciitor  nf  the 
h'le,iri':ii>li  system,  visiled  tlie  island,  and  ni;ide  a 
short  stay.  Tlie  same  Dr.  Morse  was  the  aiii  hor  ol 
•Morse's  Geoiii-apliy,"  one*'  e.\teiisi\»'ly  n>ed  in 
eiir  st'iiools,  and  still  well  reiiiemi)ered.  In  earlier 
ye;ii"s  the  fori  was  a  eliaplainey  ])ost.  and  the 
•ler,u:ymaii  in  eharir<'.  the  Ivev.  Mr.  O'llrien.  from 
l^l"-'  nnlil  the  (»|ienini.,''  of  tho  cixil  war  in  I'^Cd, 
conducted  staled  ser\  ices  ol"  t  he  l^|»isco|)al  form  of 
v.orsliin,  which  accommodatetl  the  people  of  ihe 
\illa.iro  as  well  as  tlie  soldiers.  Oiil  of  this  Moric 
L'rew  t  he 'J^'inilv  Episcopal  Church,  oriranized  in 
1^7.">.  under  the  minisl  ration  of  the  Jv'ew  Wm.  (!. 
Sioiiex.  who  coininiied  for  some  years  tho  resident 
iler^yman.  l^'ora  time  ihe  parish  held  its  Sunday 
services  in  the  fort  chapel;  then  the  old  Court 
lloustO)uildin,Lr  was  used,  and  in  l"^"*!'  the  present 
Trinity  Cliurcli  l)uildiii«j:  was  erected,  under  the 
leidei'sliip  of  the  lt«>v.  .M.  C.  Sliinley.  'I'his  re 
mains  still  the  only  ()r,L:ani/,ed  l*rote>taiil  church 
on  the  island.  it  has.  <i'iMierally.  a  j-osid.  lit  cieriiy- 
iii.'in  in  cliar;.;-e.  'Plie  Ivt.  Rev.  Thomas  J'\  l)a\ies. 
h.I).,  bishop  (d"  the  dioce.se  of  Michi<i'an.  heinii"  a 
slimmer  coita^'cr  on  the  island, ri'e(iuoiitiy  oiliciatcs 
tlurin^i'  the  visitors"  season. 

To  H'o  back' airain  tctour  earlier  period.  At  the 
lime  of  Dr.  Morsi's  \i.^it  lo  the  island,  he  was 
I  mder  commission  !>>■  the  P.  S.  •j:o\  erninei:t  on  a  two 
\ ears'  tour  of  observation  and  inspection  amoni;- 
the  va.i-ious  Indian  tribes  with  a,  \  iew  "to  devist' 
the  most  suitable  plan  to  ad\anc«'  their  civilization 


m 


KAKI.V    MAfK'IXAC. 


and  liiii)|>iii»'ss.  "  *     I  !«•  ai'fivcd  ill  lln'  islinid.  .Im,.- 
l()lli.  ill  llic  ('\»Miiii«i',   jiiid  wi-ih«s  of  llu'  vn'\v  ihiii 


:i'(M 


■l.'d  1 


lis  (»y('  ill  1  lie  iiionrmiT- 


'tlu'  fori  look 


iii'JCdowii  fi'oiii  the  hiiili  hlulT.  ;iiid  a  \U'v\  of  Indian 
caiioos  drawn  up  on  t  li«»  hracii,  alon«^  wliicii  \\<i.' 
pilclM'd  lilt}'  or  oin»  Inindi'od  lod«,'-os — coiic-sliiiiMd 
l)ariv  lonis — tilled  with  liircc  or  four  Iniinlivd 
Indians,  ukmi,  women  and  ehildren.  coine  to  reci  i\ 
llieir  annuities  fi'oin  llie  I'uiled  Stales  ( J()\erniii«'ii 

He  remained  a,  lit t le  o\er  t wo  we(  ks 


and  to  trad(*. 
and  ])i'<»aclied  in  tlie  Court  House  to  hiriLfv  and  :ii 
tentive  audiences.  A  week'  day  school  and  a 
Sahhathx'linol  were  formed  for  tiie  cliildn'n,  and 
Mri'aiiJifcments  effected  foi'  liihie  Society  and  Tiai  ' 
Society  wiu'k.  On  his  r(>tui'n  to  tlio  East,  tlif 
Tiiited  l<\)reiii*n  Missionary  Society. Iearnin<if  of  liic 
situation,  toolc  steps  toplant  a  mission  at  Mackinac. 
Tiie  island  was  considered  a  strateiric.  jioint  for 
snc]i  operations,  even  as  previously  it  had  hoeii  a 
siraleuic  situation  from  a  mililai'v  point  of  view. 
It  was  a  central  irat  hei'in.ir  place  for  the  Indians  lor 
liundre<ls  of  miles  away  as  widl  as  from  near  :il 
liand.  M'Ih'  mission  was  estahlislnMJ  in  1>'1'.'!.  'i'hc 
Uev.  Win.  l<\'rrv.  a  Presl)vtorian  minist(M'  fi'oiii   tlic 


East,  was  ajipointed  supei  intendent. 

The  Mission  was  dosi;L^ned  ciru»fly  as  a  school 
for  1  he  1  rainin.LT  of  Indian  youth.  It  opened  wiili 
twelv*'    pupils. 


Tl 


m 


^eco 


nd 


veai"     It      uuiiiImmv 


seventN.  'I'wo  y<'ars  after  the  openinir  <'f  'li'' 
enterprise  I  he  lariic  school  Imildinir  and  hoardii  l: 
liouse,  now  tlie  hot«d  at  tin.'  oast  end  of  the  islaii'l, 


♦Kruiii  IrtiiT  of  iiistrucli(Mi>  \\  littt-n  him  by  .loliii  C  (.'ulhoiiii,    H«ii<' 
taiv  ..f  Wur.  I'V-h.  IH'JO. 


G()OD  AvoKK  or  Till-:  sciioor.. 


70 


111 


Mild  boiiriiiL:  lln'  oi'i^^'iiial  iiaiiic  "Missidu  Hnusc 
v\ as  built.  In  1 -iM)  tlio  Society  which  h;i<l  Im'lh 
iho  work  ami  inaiiitaincd  it  hn*  three  \r;;rs,  \\;is 
iiici'Ljeil  will)  t  he  Aiiici'icaii  I  >oai'(l  or('oMiini,s>i«»ii('r.s 
|,ii*  J'\)reii4ii  ^Missions.  I  h'licefoi-i  h.  until  it  ch^ed. 
l!ie  MacK'inac  Mission  was  the  woiiv  of  tli;il  I'oard 
\'.  itli  liead([tiarters  in  lloslon.  For  sexcral  y«'ar.s 
!lii»  iiltenchince  at  ihe  >chi>«il  averaged  alioni  one 
hun<lr<Ml  and  liltv  a  yeai*.  Majoi*  Andei-son.  <»!'  Ihe 
( lo'.  enuiient  ser\i<-e,  wriliii.u:  in  l>i'^,  says  Ihal 
V,  lien  this  inis>ion  biiildinir  was  elected  it  was 
Uioimht     lo    lie    hir^»»    elloULi'h    to     accoilllllo(hlte    all 

w  ho  iniLiht  de>ire  its  ))ri\ile<j-es,  l)iit  such  wa.s  the 
ihirsl  !'or  Knowle(lL;e.  that  the  house  was  then  full; 
;iiid  that  at  least  lifty  Umrc  Ii;id  sou.iihl  a(liui>Ni(»ii 
ilial  seas(  n  who  could  not  In-  i-ect-jxcd  U>v  l;icl\  of 
room. 

Besides  the  ludiiiients  of  Kii-li^'l'  •'du'^at  ion. 
the  hoys  wei'e  laii.L'ht  tlie  more  useful  .sort  of  iiandi- 
'laft  and  ti-ules,  and  the  uirls  were  taiiii-ht  sewinj.,^ 
:iiid  housework.  They  wei-e  at  all  limes  undt-r 
•  hristian  inlluence,  and  were  sysiemaiically  in- 
>lnicted  in  the  truths  of  the  (hopel.  In  the 
I  hou'i'apiiy  <»f  Mr>.  .lei-einiah  l*(Ut«'r.  who  heforc* 
iier  inajM'iaji'*'  was  Miss  ('happelh'.  and  wlio  siteiii 
!\\oyt>ai"s  (l.s;in  '.)'2)  on  tlie  ishind.  is  uiNeii  an  rx- 
iract  from  her  diary,  in  w  h 'cli  slie  speaK's  of  vi>il- 
ii!^'  the  Mission  llous»'  and  heariuu:  tlie  youim" 
Indian  .n'irls,  at  their  eveiiin^^  lesson,  repeat 
loo-rther  llio  -''>d  l*salm  and  the  :.."lh  chapter  of 
Isaiah,  and  of  hearinir  a  iiymn  sun.i;  "'hy  sixteen 
swe(»t  Indian  Noices  which  was  particularly  toii<-li 
Thomas  L.  McKei.nev.  of  the  huliai'  Depart- 


L 


injr, 


•'       r 


« 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


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1.0     Ifl^  WM 


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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  W<T'  T  MAIN  STR6FT 

WEFSTER.N.V.  14580 

r/16)  872-4S03 


'^s 


\ 


80 


EARLY   iMACKINAC. 


mcMit,  c:ivos  another  iiit(M-estin<,^  ^liinpse  oi  ilio 
school  in  his  book,  "Skolclios  of  a.  Tour  to  tlic 
Lakes,"  published  in  1H27.  He  had  been  ^^eiit  out, 
tlio  year  before,  from  Washin<?ton  a.3  joint  com- 
iiiissioner  with  General  Cass  in  negotiating  a  Ircaiy 
with  the  Indians  of  the  North.  Having  touched  ;il 
Maclvinac  he  describes  his  calling, in  company  Avilli 
Mr.  Robert  Stuart,  at  "the  Missionary  establisli- 
ment  in  charge  of  Mr.  P^erry."  Tlie  school  family 
were  at  supper,  and  he  writes,  "we  joined  tliem  in 
their  prayers,  which  are  olfered  after  this  meal." 
On  another  day  he  again  visited  the  school,  and  iv- 
ported  of  it:  "Tlie  buildings  are  admirably  ada])t- 
ed  for  the  object  for  which  they  were  built.  Tliey 
are  composed  of  a  center  and  two  wings— the  center 
is  occupied  chiefly  as  the  eating  depai-tment  and 
the  offices  connected  therewith.  Tlie  western  Aviiiji: 
accommodated  the  family.  In  the  eastern  wiii.u" 
are  the  school  rooms,  and  below,  in  the  ground 
story,  are  apartments  for  shoemakers  and  other 
manufactures.  In  the  girls'  school  were  seventy- 
three,  from  four  to  seventc^en  years  old.  In 
personal  cleanliness  and  mnitness,  in  behavior,  in 
attainments  in  vai'ious  branches,  no  children,  white 
or  I'ed,  excel  them.  TJie  boys'  school  has  about 
eighty,  from  four  to  eighteen.  One  is  from  Fond 
du  Lac,  upwards  of  seven  hundi'ed  miles.  Another 
from  the  Lakii  of  the  Woods.  How  far  they  have 
come  to  get  liglit  !''  Referring  to  the  Superin- 
tendent, Mr.  Fei'ry,  he  speak's  of  him  in  terms  of 
unqiuilitied  a})[)r()bation.  ''Pew  men  possess  liis 
skill,  his  qualification,  his  industry  and  devotion 
to  the  work.     Such  a  pattern  of  practical  industry 


VffBW 


'^ 


THE   MISSION  CHURCH. 


81 


is  without  price  in  such  iin  establishment.  Indeed, 
the  entire  mission  family  appeared  to  mo  to  have 
undertaken  this  most  interesting  chai-ge  fi-om  the 
purest  motives."  He  makes  menticm  of  Mrs. 
Kobert  Stuart  as  "an  excellent,  accomplished  and 
intelligent  lady,  whose  soul  is  in  this  v.'ork  of 
inoi'cy.  Tliis  school  is  in  her  eyes,  the  green  spot 
of  the  island.  With  her  influence  and  means  she 
has  held  up  the  hands  that  were  ready,  in  the 
!)(\ginning  of  this  establishment,  to  hang  down. 
She  looks  upon  Mr.  Perry  and  his  labors  as  being 
worth  more  to  the  island  than  all  the  land  of  which 
it  is  composed;  whilst  he,  w^ith  gratitude,  mentions 
her  kindness,  and  that  of  her  co-operating  hus- 
band. '' 

Mrs.  John  Kinzie,  already  referred  to  as  being 
on  the  island  in  1830,  visited  the  Mission,  and  in 
her  book  makes  similiar  testimony  concerning  it, 
saying  among  other  things:  "Through  the  zeal 
mid  good  management  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ferry,  and 
lite  fostering  encouragement  of  the  congregation, 
the  school  was  in  great  repute."' 

A  church  for  the  island  soon  grew  out  of  the 
.school.  It  was  Presbyterian  in  name  and  form. 
It  was  a  branch  of  Mr.  Ferry's  worli,  and  he  was 
the  pastor  during  the  wliole  time  he  remained  on 
the  island.  A  church  building,  the  historic  "Old 
Mission  Church,"  still  standing  in  its  original 
dimensions  and  appearance,  was  built  in  1829-30. 
Mackiu'ic  in  those  days  shared  with  Detroit  in 
distinction,  the  two  towns  being  almost  the  only 
i)laces  of  note  in  tlie  State  of  Michigan.  The  Fur 
Company's  business,    together  with  the  general 


82 


EARLY  MACKINAC. 


tra.dini2^  ititorests  which  centered  here,  brouj^iit  to 
the  island  a  consider;' ble  po])ulation.  Thus  lai-ge 
and  interesting  coni!:regations  were  furnished  for 
this  church.  Besides  the  teachers  and  tboii- 
families,  and  the  pupils  of  the  mission  school, 
there  were  many  families  of  the  village,  officers 
and  clerks  of  the  company,  traders,  native  Indian 
converts  and  others,  wlio  were  m<3mbers  in  r(\<4"ulai' 
attendance.  The  military  post,  too,  used  to  ho 
represented — olticers  and  men  coming  down  tho 
street  on  Sunda}^  mornings  in  mai'tial  step.  The 
soldiers  w^ould  stack  their  guns  outside  in  front  of 
the  cliurch;  one  of  the  men  would  be  detailed  to 
stand  guard  over  the  arms,  w^iile  the  others  would 
file  into  the  pews  set  apart  for  their  accommoda- 
tion. 

The  whole  number  of  members  enrolled  during 
the  history  of  the  church  was  about  eighty,  exclu- 
sive of  the  mission  family.  As  a  pioneer  church  on 
the  wilderness  frontier,  it  was  remarkable  in 
having  on  its  membership  roll,  and  among  its  otfico 
bearers  as  Ruling  Elders,  two  men  of  such  slund- 
ing  and  public  name  as  Robert  Stuart  and  Henry 
R.  Schoolcraft. 

The  jNIackinac  experiment  of  mission  work'. 
unfortunately,  was  not  continued  long  enough  to 
show  the  largest  results.  Changes  took  place  on 
the  island  which  seriously  affected  tlie  situation. 
It  ceased  to  be  the  great  resort  for  the  Indians  it 
had  been  at  first.  The  Michigan  lands  were 
coming  in  demand  for  settlement;  and  the  Govei'n- 
ment  was  deporting  some  of  the  tribes  to  reserva- 
tions farther  West.     Mr.  Astor  retired  from  the 


STORY  OF  CHUSKA. 


83 


Fur  Company,  and  that  business  lost  its  former 
magnitude.  This  involved  the  loss  of  many 
families  and  a  change  in  social  conditions.  In 
18-34,  Mr.  Perry  removed  from  the  island.*  as  did 
Mr.  Stuart,  the  same  year.  Thus,  for  a  variety  of 
n^asons  the  place  ccjasing  to  be  an  advantageous 
point  for  the  work,  it  was  deemed  best  to  dis- 
continue it;  and  about  1H;]6  the  land  (some  twelve 
acres)  and  the  buildings  thereon  were  sold,  and  in 
1837  the  Mission  was  formally  given  up.  During 
the  brief  history  of  the  school,  however,  not  less 
than  five  hundred  children  of  Indian  blood  and  hab- 
its acquired  the  rudiments  of  education,  and  were 
taught  the  pursuits  and  toils  of  civilized  life,  and 
many  became  Christians.  Thi^  American  Board  at 
that  time  considered  that  the  Mackinac  Mission 
had  been  very  successful,  especially  in  its  out- 
reaching  influence  throughout  the  surrounding 
regions. 

One  instance  of  remarkable  conversion  in  the 
•vork  of  the  Mission,  was  that  of  an  old  Indian 
necromancer  or  "medicine  man."  His  name  was 
Wazhuska,  or  more  poi)ularly,Chuska.  For  40  years 
he  had  been  famous  on  tlie  island  in  the  practice  of 
that  mysterious  occultism  which  has  often  been 
found  among  low  and  barbarous  races.  He  was 
supposed  by  his  people  to  have  sui)ei'natural 
power,  and  indeed  the  instances  which  have  been 
reported  of  his  strange  facility,  seem  remai"kahl«'. 
A  sorcerer  he  might  have  been  called,  or,  as  such 
iiave  also  been  designated,  a  "practitioner  of  the 

*Mr.  Ferry  settled  at  wh;it  beeame  Grand  TIa\<ui,  iu  Mii*hi;:an. 
himsolf  founrtiu;?  the  city  and  also  its  Presbyteriim  Church,  and  con- 
tinued to  reside  there  until  his  death  in  ISfiT. 


I*. 


84 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


black  art.*'  He  embraced  the  Christian  faith  \\\\\\ 
cleaj  i)erception  of  its  essential  truths,  and  Miih 
^reat  simplicity  of  spirit;  and  entirely  renouncfd 
all  his  "hidden  works  of  darkness,"  to^-ethc^r  w'wh 
the  vice  of  drunkenness  to  which  he  had  been  lam- 
entably addicted,  and  after  a  year  of  testing'  aiul 
probation  w^as  admitted  to  inembership  in  t!n> 
Mission  Church.  He  died  in  1837,  and  was  l)uri(Hl 
on  Round  Island.  This  story  of  Chuska  and  liis 
conversion  by  the  power  of  divine  f^race,  was  con- 
sidered of  such  interest  that  we  find  it  related  by 
Schoolcraft  in  three  of  his  books — his  "Person;il 
Memoirs,''  his  "Oneota,"  (a  collection  of  miscelhmy 
which  tells  of  Chuska  under  the  heading  "The 
Magician  of  the  Manitouline  Islands,'")  and  in  his 
elaborate  six  volume  w^ork  published  by  act  of 
Congi-ess.  In  his  account  of  the  case  as  given  in 
the  last  named  publication  he  furnishes  r(^pres(>ii- 
tations  of  the  crude  pictographic  charms,  iLii!l 
totmns  and  symbols,  which  Chuska  w^as  accustoiutnl 
to  use  in  his  pagan  incantations,  and  which  at  tlu' 
tim;i  of  his  conversion  he  had  surrendered  to  Mr. 
Schoolcraft.  The  tale  of  Chuska  is  also  told  by 
Mrs.  Jameson  in  the  naiTative  of  her  visit  to 
Alackinac  in  1835;  and  in  Strickland's  "Old  Mack- 
inaw." 

The  Mission  given  up,  the  school  closed,  the 
teachers  and  their  families  gone,  the  trade  and  em- 
porium character  of  the  village  falling  away,  the 
church  organization  did  not  long  survive.  There 
was  no  successor  of  Mr.  Ferry  in  the  pastorate. 
Mr.  Schoolcraft,  as  an  office  bearer  in  the  church, 
and  always  actively  interested  in  its  welfare,  did  all 


THE   OLD  CIIUUCH. 


85 


tliat  alaymim,  so  fully  occupied  as  he,  could  do  for 
its  maintenance,  often  conducting  a  Sabbath  service 
and  reading  a  sermon  to  the  people  from  some  good 
collection.  But  so  largely  losing  its  families  by 
removal,  and  unable  under  existing  conditions  to 
secure  a  pastor,  the  clmrch  organization  became 
extinct.  The  church  building,  however,  the  ''Old 
Mission  Church"  as  it  is  familiarly  known  to  this 
day,  has  survived  for  sixty  years  the  lapse  of  the 
organization.  It  is  probably  the  oldest  Protestant 
Church  structure  in  the  whole  Northwest.  And 
while  other  ancient  church  buildings  have  been  en- 
larged and  changed  in  the  course  of  years;  an  ex- 
tension put  on,  or  a  front  or  a  tower  added,  or  other 
material  alterations  made;  this  one,  from  end  to  end, 
and  in  its  entire  structural  form,  remains  the  same 
as  at  the  time  of  its  early  dedication.  It  has  stood 
four  square  to  all  the  winds  that  hav^e  blown,  as 
'  'solid  as  the  faith  of  those  who  built  it,  "*  unchanged 
from  its  original  style  audits  bare  and  simple  ap- 
pearance, with  its  old  weather-vane  and  its  wond- 
erfully bright  tin-topped  belfry — a  mute  memorial 
of  a  most  worthy  history  of  tw^o  generations  ago. 
Despite  its  disuse  and  its  increasing  dilapidation,  it 
has  long  been  an  object  of  tender  interest,  and  has 
been  visited  by  hundreds  every  season.  It  is  gratify- 
ing, therefore, to  know  that  a  number  of  the  summer 
cottagers  and  other  visitors,  joined  by  some  of  the 
island  residents,  have  purchased  the  old  church, 
and  repaired  and  restored  it  so  as  to  present  the 
old-time  appearance  in  which  it  had  been  known 


*Miss  Woolson's  ■Anne" 


86 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


for  well  ni^h  seventy  years.*  The  gray  weather- 
worn exterior  is  pur])osely  left  unpainted.  The 
same  old  "hiijfh-up"  pulpit,  the  plain  square  pews 
with  doors  on  them,  the  diminutive  panes  of  f?lass 
m  the  windows,  tlie  quaint  old-fashioned  j2^allery  at 
the  entrance  end — all  these  features  appear  as  at 
the  first.  The  projierty  is  held  in  trust  for  the 
purchasers  by  a  board  of  seven  trustees,  five  of 
wliom  are  to  be  visitors  who  own  or  rent  cotta^os, 
and  two  to  bo  residents  of  the  villa^-e.  There  is 
no  ecclesiastical  oi-^anization  in  connection  with 
the  building,  nor  any  denominational  color  or  con- 
trol. The  motive  in  the  movement  has  been,  first, 
to  preserve  the  old  sanctuary  as  a  historic  relic  of 
the  island  and  memorial  of  early  mission  work;  and. 
second,  to  use  it  as  a  chapel  for  union  religious 
services  during  the  few  weeks  when  summer 
tourists  crowd  the  island. 


*Repaii'ed  and  restored  in  1S95. 


^^ 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Our  Island  in  its  dimensions  is  three  miles  east 
and  west,  and  two  miles  north  and  south.  It  has  a 
crescent  shaped  harbor,  which  gives  the  same  out- 
line to  the  village  nestling  on  the  rounded  beach. 
There  can  be  few  places  so  small  and  circumscribed 
that  can  furnish  so  many  pleasing  nnpressions.  In 
its  antiquarian  interest,  in  its  unlikeness  to  tiio  out- 
side world,  in  its  dim  traditions,  and  in  its  entranc- 
ing charms  of  natural  scenery, there  is  found  every 
variety  for  the  eye,  the  taste  and  tlie  imagination. 
While  small  enough  to  steam  around  it  in  an  hour 
on  the  excursion  boats,  it  is  j^et  large  enough  to  ad- 
mit of  long  secluded  walks  through  its  quiet,  gentle 
woods.  In  the  three  score  years  or  more  that  visi- 
tors have  been  coming  here,  there  have  grown  up 
for  it  such  tributes  and  terms  of  admiration  as^ 
Gem  of  the  Straits,  Fairy  Isle,  Tourists'  Paradise, 
Princess  of  the  Islands,  and  such  like. 

Rising  almost  perpendiculaily  out  of  the  water, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  with  its  wliite 
stone  cliffs  and  bluffs,  and  twice  that  height  back 
on  the  ci'est  of  the  hill,  and  covered  with  the 
densest  and  greenest  foliage,  it  is  an  object  of 
sight  for  many  miles  in  every  direction.  Through- 
out we  find  that  development  and  variety  of  beauty 
which  nature  makes  when  left  to  herself.  The  trees 
are  the  maple,  and  pine,  and  birch,  and  old  beeches 
with   strait  and  far-reaching  branches  and    with 

87 


8B 


EAUI.Y    MACKINAC. 


rugged  trunks,  on  which  can  bo  seen  initials  and 
dates  running  back  many  ytnirs — tlie  mementos  of 
visitors  of  long  ago.  Tlie  hardy  cedar  abounds  alx  >. 
and  the  evergiHMMi    spi'uce,  larch  and  laurel,  and 
lamarack.      Throughout    the    woods    running    in 
different  directions,  ai'o  winding  roads,  arched  and 
shaded  by   the  overhanging  tree-tops,   as   if   they 
were    continuous    bowers,    and  bewitching   fool- 
paths  and  trails;  the  fragrance  of  the  fir  and  the 
balsam    is   every whei-e,    and   a    buoyancy    in   ilit* 
atmosphere  which  invites  to  walking — the  avIioIb 
tract    being   safe,    always,    for  even  children  to 
wander  in.     You  come  upon  patches  of  the  delicate 
wild  strawberry  with  its  aromatic  flavor,  the  wild 
rose,  the   blue   gentian,    profuse  beds  of  daisies, 
said  to  be  of  tlie  largest  variety  in  America,  tin' 
curious    ''Indian  pipes,"  luxuriant  ferns    in  daiK' 
nooks,   forever  iudden  from  the  sun,  and  thickest 
coverings  of  moss  on  rocks  and  old  tree  trunks. 
Then  always,   from   every   quarter  and   in   every 
direction,  are  to  be  seen  tlie  great  waters  of  tiie 
lakes,  so  many  "seas  of  sweet  water, "  asthey  woj'e 
described  by  Cadillac,  the  early  Fi'ench  commander 
in  this   region — Huron  to  the  east  and  Michigan 
on  the  west,  with  the  Mackinac  Straits  between, 
and  all  so  deep,  so   pure,   so  beautifully  colored; 
and  whether  in  the  dead  calm,  when  smooth  as  a 
floor, or  shimmering  and  glistening  in  the  sunshine, 
or  in  tlie  silvery  sheen  of  the  moon  at  night,  oi" 
again  tossing  and  billowing  in  the  storm — always 
exercising  the  power  of  a  spell  upon  the  behcjlder. 
Ever  in  sight,   too,   ai-e  the  neighboring  islands, 
standing  out  in  the  midst  as  masses  of  living  green; 


CUIIIOSITIES  IN   STONE. 


89 


and  the  li,ij:lit-  Ikhisos  with  their  faithful,  friendly 
niirht  work;  and  tlie  young  ei1i(\s  on  the  two 
mainlands  in  opposite  dire(5tions;  and  always  the 
l)ictnresque  old  fort.  Then,  scattei-ed  over  tlie 
islands  are  «^lens,  and  dells,  and  springs,  and  fan- 
tastic rock  formations,  ( "rock-osities"  tliey  were 
s  )metiines  facetionsly  caUed  in  early  days.)  Many 
of  the.se  formations  are  interesting  in  a  geological 
point  of  view  as  well  as  for  their  mai-ked  appear- 
ance and  their  legendary  associations;  and  two  of 
them,  Sugar  Loaf  and  AvvA\  Rock,  have  heon  niucii 
studied  by  scientists,  and  ari?  pictured  in  certain 
college  text  books  to  illustrate  the  teachings  of 
natural  science. 

On  tliC  eastern  part  of  the  island  you  come  on 
certnhi  openings  which  the  earlier  French  t(n'm- 
ed  Grande  Jardins.  Schoolcraft  says  no  resident 
pretended  to  know  their  origin;  that  they  had 
evidently  becni  cleared  for  tilling  purposes  at  a 
very  eiu'lv  dav,  and  that  in  his  time  tliei-e  v»ere 
mounds  of  stones,  in  a  little  valley  near  Arch  Rock, 
which  resembled  the  Scotch  cairns,  and  which  he 
suppcjses  W'Cre  the  stones  gathered  out  in  the 
preparation  of  these  little  fields.  These  openings 
continued,  at  times,  to  be  utilized  for  planting 
purposes  to  a  period  within  the  memory  of  per.sons 
now  living  on  the  island.  For  a  long  time  past, 
however,  they  have  been  left  alone,  and  nature  has 
beautifully  adorned  them  with  a  very  luxuriant  and 
graceful  growth  of  evergreen  trees  and  parteri'es 
of  juniper  in  self -arranged  grouping  and  order, 
making  each  such  place  appear  as  if  laid  out  and 


90 


KARLY   MACKINAC, 


cultivated  on  the  most  artistici  pkiiis  of  landscape 
gardening. 

For  summer  comfort — that  is,  for  the  escape  of 
heat  and  the  enjoyment  of  sifted,   clean,  delicious 
air — there  can  be  no  i)lace  excelling.     As  an  old- 
time  frecpienter  once  said  of  it:     '"It  nmst  be  air 
that  came   from   Eden   an  1   escaped    the    cnrse. " 
The  hnmense  bodies  of  Avater  in  the  n<>ckla('e  of 
lakes  thrown  about  the  ishiud  become  tlie  regula- 
tor of  its  temperature.     Tlu^  only  C()m[)laint  that 
visitors  ever  niiike  of  the  climate,  is  that  it  is  not 
quite  warm  enough,  and  tliat  blanlcets  can  not  b(^ 
"put  away  for   the  summer,"  but  are  in  niglitly 
requisition,    and    that  the     "family    hearthstone" 
claims  July   and  August   as   part  of  its   Avorkini:: 
season.     Malaria  and  hay  fever  ai'e  unknown.    Dr. 
Daniel   Drake,  of  Cinciniuiti,  an  eminent   medical 
authority  in  his  day,   tlius  wrote  from  the  island: 
"To  one  of  jtided  sensibilities,  all  around  him  is  re- 
freshing.    A  feeling  of  security  comes  over  hlni, 
and    when,   from  the   rocky   battlements   of  Foi't 
Mackinac,  he  looks  down  upon   the   surrounding 
wastes,  they  seem  a  mount  of  defense  against  the 
host  of  annoyances  from   which   In^   h;id    sought 
refuse — the  liistoric  assochitions,  riot  less  than  the 
scenery  of  the  island,  being  well  titled  to  maintaiu 
the  salutary  mental  excitement."" 

Tlie  island  has  its  legends,  and  folk-lore,  and 
traditionar}'  tales  of  romance  and  tragedy.  There 
is  not  so  much  of  this,  however,  as  many  suppose. 

*  "Treiitlse  oa  the  Principiil  Disouses  of  North  America."  p.  318. 
''HytfL'iii,  too,  shaulcl  phiee  her  temple  here;  for  It  has  oue  of  the 
purest,  driest,  cleaue.st  aud  most  healthful  atmospheres.  "—Sc/jooJcra/^ 


SUGAR  LOAF. 


91 


It  is  smiiU  in  area  and  its  scope  for  scenes,  and 
tales,  and  associations  is  limited.  Reference  lias 
iilready  been  made  to  Arch  Rock  as  the  gateway  of 
entrance,  in  the  Indian  mind,  for  their  Manitou  of 
the  lakes,  when  he  visited  the  island,  and  to  Sugar 


SUC.AR     LOAF- 

Loaf  as  his  fancied  wigwam,  and  to  other  rock 
formations  which  towered  above  the  ground  and 
were  personltied  into  watching  giants.  The  Devil's 
Kitchen,  on  the  soutliwest  beach,  has  also  been 
mentioned,  but  as  divested  of  all  mystery  and  as- 


•A 


92 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


!  'i 


sociation  with  the  dim  and  early  past.  Chimnoy 
Rock  and  Fairy  Arch  are  but  appropriate  names 
for  interesting  natural  objects.  The  lofty,  jutting 
cliff  known  as  Pontiac's  Look-out,  is  undoubte<l]y 
an  admirable  look-out  spot,  and  is  often  so  used 
now,  as  it  probably  often  was  in  the  days  of  Indian 
strifes  when  canoes  of  w^ar  jiarties  went  to  and  fro 
over  the  waters  of  the  Straits.  But  Ave  can  not 
vouch  for  its  ever  having  been  Pontiac's  watcli- 
tower;  for  although  the  influence  of  that  chieftain 
was  felt  in  these  remote  parts,  his  home  was  near 
Detroit,  and  while  we  read  of  his  travelling  to  the 
East  and  the  South,  and  as  having  had  part  in  the 
battle  of  Brad  dock's  defeat  near  Pittsburgh,  we 
find  nothing  to  show  that  he  had  ever  been  so  fai* 
north  as  our  island,  or  at  least  had  ever  sojourned 
there.  Lover's  Leap,  rising  abruptly  145  feel 
above  the  lake,  is  too  good  a  pinnacle,  and  too 
suitable  for  such  sadly  romantic  purpose,  as  far  ns 
precipitous  height  and  frightful  rocks  beneath  are 
concerned,  not  to  have  suggested  the  tale  of  tlie 
too  faithful,  heart-sore  Indian  maiden.  The  stoiv 
of  Skull  Cave  has  already  been  told;  and  allhoii'ili 
a  pi»>ce  of  lilstory,  as  far  as  the  name  of  Henry  tlu> 
trader  ii'^uresin  it,  shoukl  be  justly  regarded  with 
as  much  interest  as  if  it  belonged  to  myth  and 
fable.  But  at  the  same  time,  with  all  tlie  moditi 
cations  which  a  sober  realism  may  demand,  there 
is  b(^9:otlen  in  the  mind  of  every  one  who  breathes 
the  soft  and  dreamy  air,  and  surrenders  himself  to 
the  witchery  of  the  little  island,  an  impression  of 
the  Wierd,  and  the  mystical,  and  the  poetic,  however 
little  defined  and  embodied  it  may  be.     This  ini- 


pr( 
ed 
tutl 
a  SI 


I 

I 

i 


ARCH  ROCK. 


93 


pression  is  increased  in  the  sense  of  charm  impart- 
ed by  the  dim  and  shadowy  past  of  a  noi)le  but  ini- 
tutored  race  of  nature's  children  in  connection  witli 
a  spot  of  such  rare  attractiveness,  and  which,  dis- 


ARCH     ROCK. 

similar  in  formation  and  character  from  all  the 
other  land  about,  seems  as  though  it  were  separate 
from  the  ordinary  seats  of  life. 

Arch  Rock  has  long  been  celebrated.     It  ap- 


94 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


pears  as  if  hanging  in  the  air,  a) id  as  a  caprice  of 
nature.  It  is  a  part  of  the  precipitous  cliff-siclc, 
and  stands  a  hundred  and  forty  feet  above  the 
water's  edge.  It  has  been  accounted  for  by  the 
more  rapid  decomposition  of  the  lower  than  of  the 
upper  parts  of  the  calcareous  stone  bank — which 
process,  however,  it  used  to  be  thought,  was  fast 
extending  to  the  whole.  McKenney  in  his  "Tour 
of  the  Lakes,"  published  in  1827,  thus  writes: 
**This  arch  is  crumbling,  and  a  few  years  will 
deprive  the  island  of  Michilimackinac  of  a  curiosity 
which  it  is  worth  visiting  to  see,  even  if  this  were 
the  only  inducement."  The  latter  remark  is  most 
true  but  we  are  glad  he  was  so  mistaken  in  the 
first  part  of  his  sentence.  The  arch  has  survived 
the  unfortunate  prophecy  for  seventy  years,  and 
bids  fair  still  to  hold  on.  It  is  true,  however,  tliat 
soma  portions  may  have  fallen,  and  the  surface  of 
the  cross- way  been  redu<'ed,  since  the  days  when 
boys  played  on  it,  and  when,  according  to  an  early 
tradition,  a  lady  rode  horse-back  over  the  span. 

Sugar  Loaf  is  another  curiosity  in  stone; 
conical  in  shape,  like  the  old-fashioned  form  in 
which  hard,  w^hite  sugar  used  to  be  prepared.  In- 
cluding the  plateau  out  of  which  it  rises,  it  is  two 
hundred  and  eighty- four  feet  high,  erect  a:id 
rugged,  in  appearance  somewhat  between  a  pyra- 
mid of  Egypt  and  an  obelisk.  Like  tlie  Arch, 
it  is  a  "survival  of  the  fittest" — the  softt^r  sub- 
stance about  it  being  worn  away  and  carried  off 
in  the  process  of  geological  changes,  and  leaving 
it  solitary  among  the  trees. 

Robinson's  Folly  is  the  lofty,  broad  and  blunt 


ROBINSON  S   FOLLY. 


95 


^V 


precipitous  cliff  at  the  Etist  end  of  the  island,  one 
liundred  and  twenty -seven  feet  above  the  beach. 
The  origin  of  the  name  is  uncertain,  save  that  it  is 
associated  in  some  way  with  the  English  Captain 
Robinson  (Robertson)  who  belonged  to  the  fort 
garrison  for  seven  years,  and,  as  already  mentioned, 
was  its  commandant  from  1782  to  1787.  There  are 
no  less  tiian  five  traditionary  stories,  or  legends,  in 
explanation  of  the  name.  Tliese  stories  vary  from 
the  prosaic  and  trifling,  to  the  very  romantic  and 
tragical.  A  C(mimon  account  is  that  he  built  a 
little  bower  house  on  the  very  edge  of  the  cliff 
w^hich  ho  made  a  place  of  resort,  and  revelry  may- 
hap, in  summer  days;  and  that  once,  either  by  a 
gale  of  wind  or  by  the  crumbling  of  the  outer 
lodge  of  stone,  the  house  foil  to  the  beach  bolow. 
One  version  of  the  legend  lias  Robinson  himself  in 
the  house  at  the  time,  and,  like  a  devoted  soa 
captain  "going  down  with  his  ship,"  dashed  to 
death  in  the  fall.  Another  is  that  on  one  occasion 
v.'hon  a  feast  and  carousal  wore  projected  on  the 
<  iff,  and  when  the  tilings  of  good  cheer  w^ore  all  in 
r  adiness,  and  the  participants,  led  by  their  host, 
delaying  for  a  little  their  arrival,  some  lurking 
Indians,  watchful  and  very  hungry,  stole  a  march 
on  the  company  and  devoured  all  that  was  in 
sight. 

T^e  other  tales  are  of  a  different  hue.  One  is, 
that  once  walking  near  this  spot  the  Captain 
t  houglit  he  saw  just  before  him,  and  gazing  at  him, 
a  beautiful  maiden.  In  attempting  gallantly  to 
approach  her,  slie  kept  receding,  and  walking 
backwards  as  she  moved   she  came  dangerously 


\. 


96 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


near  the  edge.  Rushing  forward  to  hor  rescuo. 
the  girl  proved  to  be  b\it  a  phantom  and  dissolved 
into  thin  air,  while  the  impetuous  captain  Avas 
dashed  to  death  on  the  rocks  below.  Yet  anothec 
is  of  this  order:  That  Captain  Robinson  had  been 
one  of  the  garrison  force  at  tlie  old  fort  across  tin* 
Straits  at  tiie  time  of  the  massacre  in  1763,  and  liad 
been  saved  by  an  Indian  girl  who  w^as  exceedingly 
attached  to  him.  After  removing  to  the  island, 
and  bringing  a  white  bride  there,  the  Indian  girl 
followed  him  and  dwelt  in  a  lodge  lie  had  built  for 
her  on  the  brow  of  the  great  cliff,  nursing  her 
jealous^?^  and  revenge.  She  begged  one  last  inter- 
view with  him  before  leaving  the  place  forever. 
On  the  Captain's  granting  this,  and  standing  beside 
her  on  the  edge,  she  suddenly  seized  his  arm  in  her 
frenzy  and  leaped  off,  dragging  him  with  her  to 
death. 

There  is  one  more  of  this  harrowingly  tragical 
kind,  in  the  attempt  to  explain  the  naming,  which 
had  much  currency  in  earlier  days,  and  is  given  in 
tourists'  notes  of  sixty  years  ago:  That  Robinson 
had  married  an  amiable  and  attractive  Indian  girl. 
Wintemoyeh,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Peezhicki, 
a  great  war  chief  of  the  Chippewas,  and  had  brought 
her  to  his  home  at  th^  fort.  This  aroused  the 
deadly  hatred  of  Peezhicki,  who  had  reserved  the 
girl  for  one  of  the  warriors  of  his  tribe.  Robinson 
celebrated  the  marriage  by  giving  a  banquet  feast 
i'l  his  bower  on  the  cliff.  The  bride  was  present, 
and  a  company  of  guests.  The  father  learned  of 
the  feast  and  concealed  himself  in  the  cedar  bushes 
to  shoot  the  man  who  had  taken  his  daughter. 


poig 


•immi 


ROBINSON  S  FOLLY. 


97 


A  faithful  sergeant,  (the  story  even  gives  his  name, 
MacWhorter,)  was  present  and  saw  the  Indian  level 
his  gun.  He  sprang  up  to  protect  the  Captain, 
and  himself  received  the  shot  and  fell  dead. 
Robinson  then  grappled  with  the  fierce  chief,  and 
in  the  struggle  the  two  men  came  dangerously 
near  the  brow.  The  Indian,  with  his  tomahawk 
raised,  took  a  step  or  two  backward  to  get  better 
poise  for  his  blow.  This  brouglit  him  to  the  very 
edge.  A  piece  of  stone  gave  way  and  he  fell,  but 
saved  himself  by  catching  at  the  projecting  root  of 
a  tree.  The  girl  now  seeing  her  husband  safe  and 
only  her  father  in  danger,  sprang  forward  to  his 
help.  He  was  thus  able  to  raise  himself  to  where 
she  stood.  Then  seizing  her  around  the  waist,  lie 
dashed  off  from  the  clitf  and  both  perished  to- 
gethei*. 

The  first  two  of  these  stories  concerning  the 
famous  cliff,  might  very  naturally  suggest  the 
name  "Folly."  But  the  others  smack  more  of 
profound  tragedv,  spiced  with  romance.  Of  course, 
Robinson  was  not  in  the  massacre  affair  of  long 
before,  across  the  straits;  he  being  at  that  time  in 
army  service,  under  Gen.  Bouquet,  against  the 
Indians  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania.  That  he  met 
his  death  on  the  island  by  falling  over  the  cliff,  or 
even  in  a  more  normal  manner,  is  a  supposition 
only,  without  any  evidence.  There  is  reason  to 
suppose  he  still  "lived  to  fight  another  day"  after 
leaving  the  Island  post.  It  may  be  added,  too, 
that  at  the  period  of  his  Mackinac  command  he  had 
already  seen  over  thirty  years  of  service  in  the 
English  army,  and  was  no  longer  in  the  romance 


98 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


and  lively  heyday  of  youth.  There  must, however, 
have  been  something  about  a  summer  bower  or 
hut,  and  something  about  feasting,  and  something 
about  a  dreadful  fall,  which  illustrated  the  "folly'" 
of  establishing  a  pleasure  resort  on  the  very  brow 
of  a  dreadful  precipice.  Viewed  together,  theso 
stories  all  become  interesting  as  throwing  sonnr 
light  on  the  origin  of  myths,  and  as  showing  how 
traditions,  exceedingly  variant,  may  yet  have  some 
of  the  same  threads  running  through  them  all. 
But  I  would  not  philosophize.  I  simply  rehearse 
these  stories,  the  trivial  and  the  grave,  and  leave 
them  to  the  imagination  and  the  choice  of  the 
reader. 


1 


>A 


CHAPTER  X. 

Prom  an  early  day  tlie  island's  charm  of 
sylvan  and  water  scenery  and  its  delightful  sum- 
mer air,  together  with  its  historical  associations 
and  its  flavor  of  antiquity,  gave  it  a  wide-spread 
fame.  There  are  but  few  places  anywhere  in  our 
country  that  are  older  as  tourist  resorts.  Seventy 
and  eighty  years  ago  visitors  were  coming  here, 
despite  the  difficulty  and  tedium  in  tiiat  time,  of 
reaching  so  remote  a  point.  Persor.s  of  high 
distinction  in  public  life  and  in  the  walks  of  litera- 
ture, and  travelers  from  foreign  countries,  were 
often  among  the  visitors;  and  oui*  island  has  figur- 
ed in  many  descriptive  books  of  travel.  As  some 
of  these  authors  wrote  so  appreciatingly  of  the 
island,  and  as  those  particular  books  of  long  ago 
are  now  out  of  print  and  not  easily  accessible,  I 
think  the  readers  of  this  sketch  will  be  i:)loased  to 
see  a  few  extracts.  These  writers  all  speak  of 
having  known  the  island  by  reputation  in  advance 
of  their  coming,  and  of  being  drawn  by  its  fame. 

In  1843,  the  Countess  Ossoli,  better' known  as 
our  American  Margaret  Fuller,  of  Boston,  spent 
nine  days  in  Mackinac,  as  part  of  a  protracted 
journey  she  made  in  the  northwest,  and  which  slie 
detailed  in  her  book,  "Summer  on  the  Lakes." 
She  expressed  in  advance  her  pleasurable  anticipa- 
tion of  "the  most  celebrated  beauties  of  the  island 
of  Mackinac;"  and  then  adds  her  tribute  to  "the 

99 


100 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


excoediHg  boiiiUy  of  the  spot  and  its  position." 
She  arrived  at  a  time  when  nearly  two  thousand 
Indians  (and  "more  coming  every  day")  were  en- 
camixjd  on  the  beach  to  receive  their  annual  pay- 
m(\its  from  the  government.  As  tlie  vessel  came 
into  the  harbor  "the  Captain  had  some  rockets  let 
off  which  greatly  excited  the  Indians,  and  their 
wild  cries  resounded  along  the  shores."  The 
island  was  "a  scene  of  ideal  loveliness,  and  these 
wild  forms  adorned  it  as  looking  so  at  home  in  it." 
She  represents  it  as  a  "pleasing  sight,  after  the 
raw,  crude,  staring  assemblage  of  houses  every- 
wiiere  sure  to  be  met  in  this  country,  to  see  the 
(jld  French  town,  mellow  in  its  coloring,  and  with 
the  harmonious  effect  of  a  slow  growth  wliich 
assimilates  naturally  with  objects  around  it.  "  Con- 
cerning Arch  Rock,  slie  says:  "The  arch  is  per- 
fect, whether  you  look  up  through  it  from  the 
lake,  or  down  through  it  to  the  transparent 
waters."  She  both  ascended  and  descended  "the 
steep  and  crumbling  path,  and  rested  at  the  sum- 
mit beneath  the  trees,  and  at  the  foot  upon  the  cool 
mossy  stones  beside  the  lapsing  wave."  Sugar- 
Loaf  rock  struck  her  as  having  '  'the  air  of  a  helmet, 
as  seen  from  an  eminence  at  the  side.  The  rock 
may  be  ascended  by  the  bold  and  agile.  Half  way 
up  is  a  niche  to  which  thosa,  who  are  neither,  can 
climb  a  ladder. "  The  woods  she  describes  as 
"very  full  in  foliage,  and  in  August  showed  the 
tender  green  and  pliant  leaf  of  June  elsewhere." 
She  gives  us  a  view  from  the  bluffs  on  the  harbor 
side:  "I  never  wished  to  see  a  more  fascinating 
jiicture.     It  was  an  hour  of  the  deepest  serenity; 


IP 


A    SCENE  ON   THE   BEACH. 


101 


bright  bluo  and  gold  with  rich  shadows.  •  Every 
momnnt  the  sunlight  fell  more  mellow.  The 
Indians  were  grouped  and  scattered  among  the 
lodges;  the  women  preparing  food  over  the  many 
small  fires;  the  children,  half  naked,  wild  as  little 
goblins,  were  playing  both  in  and  out  of  the  water; 
bark  canoes  upturned  upon  the  beach,  and  others 
coming,  their  square  sails  set  and  with  almost 
arrowy  speed."  And  a  familiar  picture  is  this: 
"Those  evenings  we  were  happy,  looking  over  the 
old-fashioned  garden,  over  the  beach,  and  the 
pretty  island  opposite,  beneath  the  growing 
moon." 

A  two-volume  book,  (published  anonymously 
and  giving  no  clue  to  its  author,  except  that  he 
was  a  practicing  physician  of  New  York  City), 
titled  "Life  on  the  Lakes,  or  a  Trip  to  the  Pictur- 
ed Rocks,"  describes  a  visit  to  Mackinac  in  1835.* 
"Though  the  first  glance,"  he  says,  "at  any  looked 
for  object  is  most  ahvays  disappointing,  it  is  not  so 
when  you  first  see  Mackinac."  A  moonlight  view 
of  the  island  from  the  waters,  he  thus  describes: 
"The  scene  was  enchanting;  the  tall  white  cliif, 
the  whiter  fort,  the  winding,  yet  still  precipitous 
pathway,  the  village  below  buried  in  a  deep, 
gloomy  shade,  the  little  bay  where  two  or  three 
small,  half -rigged  sloops  lay  asleep  upon  the 
water."  It  reminded  him  of  descriptions  he  had 
read  of  Spanish  scenery,  "where  the  white  walls  of 
some  Moorish  castle  crown  the  brow  of  the  lofty . 
Sierra."     In  describing  his  stay  on  the  island  he 


K 


*The  author  is  supposed  to  have  been  Dr.  Chandler  R.  Gilman,  of  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New  York. 


p 


102 


EAUr.Y   MAOK'TNAC. 


makos  interostlnir  m(»n1ion  of  ;i  Sunday  sorviro  he 
iittendcd  at  tlm  Old  Mission  Chui'ch.  H<^  reports 
Iho  building  as  noat  and  commodious,  thou.urli  tho 
oong-rofifation  was  small.  TIi(M'(»  was  no  Prolostanl. 
cici'fryinan  on  ilie  island,  but  Mr.  Schoolcraft  (tlie 
ruling  oldei*  of  tli(5  church)  conducted  tho  service 
and  read  from  some  book  a  very  f^ood  sevmcm. 
Tho  siniiing  of  the  choir  was  excellent,  and  was 
led  by  a  ser^^'eaut  of  the  fort.  The  whole  appear- 
ance of  tlH3  congregation,  he  thought,  was  veiy 
striking;  officers  and  i)i"ivates  of  the  gari'ison,  with 
the  marks  of  rank  of  the  one  class,  andtln^  plainer 
nniforms  of  the  other,  were  mingled  together  in 
the  body  of  the  church;  there  were  well-dressed 
ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  village  along  with 
those  of  simpler  attire;  and  hei'o  and  thei-e  were 
Indians  wearing  blankets,  and  standing  about  the 
doors  weie  others  of  that  race  in  tlieir  (ji'dinary 
savaire  dress. 

He  mentions  in  evident  astonishment,  and  as 
conveying  a  hint  about  the  island  climate,  his 
eating  cherries  and  currants  in  Mi*.  Schoolcraft's 
garden  in  the  mcmth  of  September.  And  as  a 
piece  of  harmhvss  pleasantry,  we  may  give  yet 
another  of  his  observations  of  sixty-two  yeai's  ago: 
"There  are  moi'e  cows  in  Mackinac  than  in  any 
other  place  of  its  size  in  tlie  known  world,  and 
ever-^  cow  has  at  least  one  bell." 

English  visitors  in  their  tours  of  observation 
through  the  United  States  were  often  drawn 
thither — making  the  long  journey  to  these  upper 
lakes,  and  stopping  off  to  see  the  island  of  whose 
fame  they  had  heard.     Captain  Marryatt,  first  an 


oi 

kil 

tol 

iiil 

i  •  1 

on 


■ 


ths 
th( 
in\ 


find 
and 

call 
M 


MINk. 


CAPTAIN  MARRY  ATT. 


103 


officer  of  celebrity  in  tilt »  EnL,^lish  navy,  but  more 
known  ill  this  country  as  a  novelist  largely  given 
to  sea  tales,  was  here  in  the  summer  of  \K]7.  In 
liis  "Diary  of  America"  he  writes  of  Maclvinac: 
"It  has  the  api)earance  of  a  fairy  island  floating 
on  the  water,   which  is  so  pure  and  transparent 


TANGLEWOOD 

that  you  may  see  down  to  almost  any  depth,  and 
the  air  above  is  as  pure  as  the  water  that  you  feel 
invigorated  as  you  breathe  it.*    The  tii'st  reminis- 

*Marryatt's  uclmlratlon  of  the  transparent  waters  sutfgests  what  i 
find  related  of  a  certain  lady  of  Ion;,'  a^ro,  that  onoe  sailing  in  the  harbor 
and  yazinK  with  rapt  fonduossinto  the  pellucid  depths,  she  enthusiasti- 
cally exclaimed;  •Qh,  I  could  Avish  to  ue  drowned  in  these  pure,  beauti- 
ful waters! " 


f 


104 


EARLV   MACKINAC. 


cence  brought  to  my  mind  after  I  had  landed  was 
the  description  b}' Walter  Scott  of  the  island  and 
residence  of  Magnus  Troil  and  his  daughters 
Minna  and  Brenda,  in  the  novel,  'The  Pirate.'" 
The  a]ipearance  of  the  village  streets,  lai-gely  given 
to  sails,  cordage,  nets,  fisli  barrels  and  the  like, 
still  further  suggested  tlie  resemblance  to  his 
mind,  and  he  says  he  might  have  imagined  himself 
'transferred  to  that  Shetland  Tsle,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  lodges  of  the  Indians  on  the  beach,  and  the 
Indians  themselves,  either  running  about  or  l^^ing 
on  the  porches  before  the  whisky  stores.  " 

Th<M'e  were  also  two  lady  visitors  here  from 
England,  in  the  days  of  early  Mackinac:  Mrs. 
Jameson  and  Miss  Harriet  Martineau.  Both  have 
high  rank  and  distinction  in  English  literature. 
Each  of  them  published  her  impressions  of  Mack- 
inac after  roturning  home.  In  their  admiration 
and  enthusiasm  for  the  island  they  could  not  be 
surpassed  by  the  most  devoted  American  visitor 
who  ever  touched  these  shores. 

Mrs.  Jameson  is  well  known  as  the  Avriter  of 
such  books  as,  "Sacred  and  Legendary  Art," 
"Legends  of  the  Madonn*',"  '•Essa3^s  of  Art, 
Literature  and  Social  Morals."  "Memoirs  of  the 
Early  Italian  Painters,"  etc.  Miss  Martineau 
was  of  more  vigorous  intellect,  and  her  writings 
deal  more  with  subjects  of  political  economy  and 
social  i)hilosophy.  She  it  was,  too,  who  translated 
and  introduced  into  England  the  "VN'ritings  of  the 
French  philosophcn-  Comte.  As  both  these  books 
which  touch  on  Mackinac,  writ,ten  over  sixty  years 


MRS.   JAMESON. 


10a 


■t, 

lie 
\>u 

;s 
Id 

le 
Is 


i 


ago,  were  descriptive  of  tra/els,  and  not  of  tlie 
same  general  interest  which  attaches  to  their  other 
writings,  they  are  now  out  of  print  and  have  be- 
come rare. 

Mrs.  Jameson's  visit  was  in  the  summer  of 
1835.  She  came  up  Lake  Huron  from  Detroit  by 
steamboat,  and  arrived  in  tlie  harbor  at  early 
dawn.  She  thus  describes  hor  first  view  of  the 
island  as  she  had  it  from  the  deck  of  the  vessel: 
"We  were  lying  in  a  tiny  bay,  crescent-shapod. 
On  the  east  the  whole  sky  was  flushc^l  with  a  deep 
amber  glow  flecked  wltli  softest  shadows  of  rose 
color,  the  same  sx)lendor  reflected  in  the  lake;  and 
between  the  glory  above  and  the  glory  Ijelow  stood 
the  little  missionary  church,  its  light  spire  and 
belfry  defined  against  the  sky."  She  sjieaks  of  the 
"abrupt  and  picturesque  heights  robed  in  richest 
foliage,"  and  of  the  "little  fortress,  snow-white 
and  gleaming  in  the  morning  light;"  of  an  encamp- 
ment of  Indian  wigwams,  ("picturesque  dormi- 
tories," she  calls  them)  up  and  down  the  beach  on 
the  edge  of  the  lake  which,  "transfused  and  un- 
ruffled, reflected  every  form  as  in  a  mirror,  *  *  an 
elysian  stillness  and  balmy  serenity  enwrapping 
the  whole."  And,  again,  we  hear  her  speaking  of 
"the  exceeding  beauty  of  this  little  paradise  of  an 
island,  the  attention  which  has  been  excited  by  its 
enchanting  scenery,  and  the  salubrity  of  its  sum- 
mer climate. " 

Mrs.  Jameson  made  quite  an  extended  stay  at 
Mackinac,  the  guest  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schoolcraft, 
at  their  home  in  the  Old  Agency — "The  house  em- 
bowered in  foliage,  tlie  ground  laid  out  in  gardens, 


I 

;  ] 
■  > 


106 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


the  gate  opening  on  the  very  edge  of  the  lake." 
She  pictures  Mrs.  Schoolcraft  with  "features 
decidedly  Indian,  accent  sHghtly  foreign,  a  soft, 
plaintive  voice,  her  language  pure  and  remarkably 
elegant,  refined,  womanly  and  unaffectedly  pious." 


ONE    O'r     THE     DRIVES- 

She  saw  the  island  throughout,  taking  tramps  over 
it  and  "delicious  drives,"  and  writes  of  it  as  "won- 
derfully oeautiful — a  perpetual  succession  of  low, 
rich  groves,  alleys,  green  dingles  and  bosky 
dales."  After  her  glowing  description,  she  sums 
up  by  saying,  "It  is  a  bijou  of  an  island.     A  little 


i'/.'ffi-sriTiiar**, 


, 


MISS   MARTINEAU. 


107 


bit  of  fairy  f^round,  just  snch  a  1hin^  as  some  of 
our  amateur  travelers  "vvonld  like  to  pocket  and 
run  away  Avith  (if  they  could)  and  set  down  in  the 
midst  of  Iheir  fish  ponds;  skull-cave,  wl^jfwams, 
Indians  and  all." 

Miss  Martineau  spent  two  years  in  this  coun- 
try, traveling  extensively  through  the  States  and 
writing  her  impr(\ssions.  She  published  t^^o 
boo!\S  as  the  outcome  of  this  journeying,  ''Society 
in  America."  and  afterwards,  Ikm*  ''Retrospect  of 
Western  Travelinii*. "  It  was  in  Jul  v.  18.'](),  that 
she  visited  Mackinac,  and  it  is  in  the  first  named  of 
these  two  book's  that  she  tells  of  it.  She  came  by 
way  of  Lake  Michigan,  from  Chicago,  traveling  in 
a  slow-going  sail-vessel,  and  ajij^roached  the  island 
in  the  evening  towards  sun-setting  time.  As  did 
Mrs.  Jameson,  so  Miss  Martineau  first  jVictures  it 
as  view^ed  from  the  vessel:  "We  saw  a  white  sjieck 
before  us;  it  was  tlie  barracks  of  Mackinaw, 
stretching  akmg  the  side  of  its  green  hills,  and 
ck\arly  visible  before  the  town  came  into  view. 
The  island  looked  enchanting  as  we  approa/'hcd, 
as  I  think  it  always  must,  though  we  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  seeing  it  lii'st  steeped  in  the  most 
golden  sunshine  Ihat  ever  hallowed  lake  or 
shore. " 

The  day  of  her  arrival  w^as  the  4th  of  July, 
and,  "The  colors  were  up  on  all  the  little  vessels 
in  the  harbor.  The  national  flag  sti-eanied  from 
the  garrison.  The  soldi<^rs  thronged  the  walk's  of 
Ihe  bai-racks;  half-bref^l  boys  w^n'e  paddling  al)out 
in  their  caiKxvs,  in  the  transparent  waters;  tlie  lialf- 
French,  half- Indian  population  of  the  i)lace  were 


108 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


all  iibroad  in  their  bust.  An  Indian  lodge  was  on 
the  sliore,  and  a  picturesque  dark  group  stood  be- 
side it.  Tlie  cows  were  coming  down  the  steep 
green  slope  to  the  milking.  Nothing  could  be 
more  bright  and  joyous." 

Describing  the  appearance  of  the  village,  she 
took  note  of  some  of  the  old  French  houses, 
"dasky  and  roofed  with  bark.  The  better  houses 
stand  on  the  first  of  the  three  terraces  which  are 
distinctly  marked.  Behind  them  are  swelling 
gn^en  knolls;  before  them  gardens  sloping  down  to 
the  narrow  slip  of  white  beach,  so  that  the  grass 
seems  to  grow  almost  into  the  clear  rippling 
waves.  There  were  two  small  piers  with  little 
barks  alongside,  and  piles  of  wood  for  the  steam- 
boats. Some  way  to  the  right  stood  the  quad- 
rangle of  missionary  buildings,  and  the  white 
missionary  church.  Still  further  to  the  right  was 
a  shrubby  precipice  down  to  the  lake;  and  beyond, 
the  blue  waters." 

She  did  not  leave  the  vessel  that  evening,  but 
some  of  the  party  having  met  the  commandant  of 
11) e  fort,  an  engagement  was  made  for  an  early 
walk  in  the  morning.  So  they  were  up  and  ashore 
at  five  o'clock,  and  under  the  escort  of  the  ofiicer 
they  took  in  the  beauties  of  the  hill  and  the  woods. 
And  thus  she  tells  us  of  it:  "No  words  can  give 
an  idea  of  the  charms  of  this  morning  walk.  We 
wound  about  in  a  vast  shrubbery,  with  ripe  straw- 
bei'ries  under  foot,  wild  flowers  all  around,  and 
scattered  knolls  and  opening  vistas  tempting  curi- 
osity in  every  direction."  Coming  suddenly  on 
Arch  Rock,  which  she  calls  the  "Natural  Bridge  of 


. 


MISS   MARTINEAU. 


109 


Mackinaw,"  she  is  "almost  struck  backwards"  by 
the  grandeur — "tlie  horizon  line  of  the  lake  falling 
behind  the  bridge,  and  tlie  blue  expanse  of  waters 
filling  the  entire  arch;  shrubbery  tufting  tiie  sides 
and  dangling  from  the  bridge,  the  soft,  rich  hues 
in  which  the  whole  was  dressed  seeming  boiTowed 
from  the  autumn  sky." 

f3ut  especially  charming  and  impressive,  slie 
tliought,  was  the  prospect  from  Pc^rt  Hohn«\s.  As 
she  looked  out  on  the  glossy  lake  and  tlie  green 
tufted  islands,  she  compares  it  to  wliat  Noah 
might  have  seen  the  first  bright  morning  aftci-  the 
deluge.  "Such  a  cluster  of  little  paradises  rising 
out  of  such  a  congregation  of  waters.  Blue  waters 
in  i)vei'y  direction,  wholly  unlilve  any  aspect  of  the 
sea,  cloud  sliadows  and  specks  of  w^hite  vessels. 
Bowery  islands  rise  out  of  it;  bowery  promontories 
stretch  down  into  it;  w^hile  at  one's  feet  lies  the 
melting  beauty  which  one  almost  fears  will  vanish 
in  its  softness  before  one's  eyes;  the  beauty  of  the 
shadowy  dells  and  sunny  mounds,  with  browsing 
cattle  and  springing  fruit  and  flowers.  Thus,  would 
I  fain  think,  did  the  world  emerge  from  the  flood.'' 

After  their  early  walk,  Miss  Martineau  and  her 
party  took  breakfast  with  the  courteous  com  man - 
tlant  at  one  of  the  old  stone  quarters  of  the  fort, 
and  sat  a  while  on  the  piazza  overlooking  the 
village  and  the  harbor.  In  response  to  her  in- 
quiries about  the  healthfulness  and  the  climate, 
the  officer  humorously  replied  that  it  was  so 
healthy  people  had  to  get  olf  the  island  to  die;  and 
that  as  to  the  climate,  they  had  nine  months  winter 
and  three  months  cool  weather. 


110 


EARLY   MACKINAC. 


TliG  sailing  vessel  on  whicli  the  party  were 
passengers  w;is  bound  iov  Detroit,  and  the  Captain 
had  already  overstayed  his  time.  So  they  had  to 
leave  that  same  day.  In  ref(M'ence  i<  her  departure 
she  wi'ites:  "W(»  were  in  great  delight  at  having 
seen  Mackinaw,  at  having  the  possession  of  its 
singular  imagery  for  life.  But  this  delight  was 
daslied  with  the  sorrow  of  leaving  it.  I  could  not 
have  believed  how  deeply  it  is  possible  to  regret  a 
place,  after  so  brief  an  acquaintance  with  it." 
And  then  she  tells  how  she  did,  just  what  thous- 
ands since  have  done,  who  after  visiting  the  island 
have  regretfully  sail(*d  away  from  it:  "We  watch- 
ed the  island  as  we  rapidly  receded.  Its  flag  first 
vanished;  then  its  green  terraces  and  slopes, 
its  white  barracks,  and  dark  promontories  faded, 
till  the  whole  disappeared  behind  a  headland  an  1 
light-house  of  the  Michigan  shore. " 

We  close  Miss  Martineau's  tribute  with  this 
comprehensive  note  of  admiration:  "From  place 
to  jolace  in  my  previous  traveling,  I  had  been  told 
of  the  charms  of  the  lakes,  and  esi)ecially  of  the 
Island  of  Mackinaw.  This  islaud  is  chiefly  known 
as  a  i)rincipal  station  of  the  great  Northwestern 
Pur  Company.  Others  know  it  as  the  seat  of  an 
Indian  Mission.  Others,  again,  as  a  frontier  gar- 
rison. It  is  known  to  me  as  the  wildest  and  tend- 
erjest  piece  of  beauty  that  I  have  yet  seen  on  God's 
earth." 


_jg 


THE   END. 


Ill 


Captiiin  Marryatt,  Avho  liad  read  this  descrip- 
tion before  his  visit  to  the  island  (already  referred 
to)  said,  wli(^n  writing  his  own  impressions,  "Miss 
Martlnean  lias  not  been  too  lavish  in  her  i)raises  of 
Mackinaw."  These  testimonies  by  pers(ms  of  wide 
travel,  and  of  cultivated  taste  and  power  of  obser- 
vation, and  visitors  as  they  were  from  another 
land,  come  down  to  us  very  pleasantly  from  sixty 


}' 


rears  ago. 


T  know  iin  isle,  an  emerald  set  in  pearl, 

Mounting  the  chain  of  topaz,  amethyst, 
That  forms  tlio  circle  of  our  summer  seas  — 

Tlic  fairest  that  our  western  sun  hath  kissed. 

For  all  things  lovely  lend  her  loveliness; 

The  waves  reach  forth  white  fingers  to  caress. 
The  four  winds,  murmuringly  meet  to  woo 

And  cloudless  skies  bend  in  blue  tenderness. 

The  classic  nymphs  still  haunt  her  grassy  pools; 

Her  woods,  in  green,  the  Norseland  elves  have  draped. 
And  fairies,  from  all  lands,  or  far  or  near. 

Her  airy  cliffs,  and  carving  shores,  have  shaped. 

Of  old,  strange  suitors  came  in  quest  of  hor. 
Some  in  the  pride  of  conquest,  some  for  pelf; 

Priests  in  their  piety,  red  men  for  revenge — 
All  seek  her  now,  alone,  for  her  fair  self. 

David  If,  Riddle. 


